Night of the New Moon
by Lotus-chan
Summary: After the war Heero travels to a secluded old town in America to get away from it all but instead he finds more trouble than he would've liked in the form of the supernatural. Warning: Yaoi, Relena-bashing, Angst, blood, etc.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: Gundam Wing and all it's drop dead gorgeous bishounen   
don't belong to me. -.- Sigh. Fic was made for fun not profit.  
Warnings: Shounen ai, AU, 1+2, OOC, a tiny little blood, angst,   
violence, & probably Death. ^.^;  
  
Night of the New Moon  
Prologue  
  
The sprit rose from it's eternal resting place at the bottom of the   
cliff when the last of the sun died behind the horizon. It looked to   
the darkening sky and grinned. No moon. It's shackles would be   
released for just this one night and it damn well was going to make   
good of it.   
  
The spirit looked out toward the cove beyond, malicious grin never   
wavering. The cove spirit was no where to be seen. Good. He always   
seemed to cower off somewhere on the nights without the safety of the   
moon, which meant there'd be no one to stop it.  
  
The spirit lifted from the rocks where it had met it's death centuries   
ago until it reached the very top of the cliff. The Inn was   
conveniently placed right in front of the dangerous edge which had   
claimed so many lives... it laughed at the thought. So many...   
'accidents'. Raising a hand to push back the long tresses of golden   
hair, the spirit slowly made it's way up to the back porch and inside.  
  
The inside of the old Inn was warm, always so warm compared to the   
cold outside and the spirit paused a moment to revel in a warmth it   
had the chance to feel so little of. It sighed, realizing how human   
and useless it was right away and continued down the halls until it   
reached the kitchen.   
  
Standing in the doorway, the spirit's cold cornflower blue eyes   
narrowed when it saw that the drawer where the knives were kept was   
closed with lock and key. The Inn keeper was becoming a nuisance. It   
ignored the cleaver that had been carelessly left outside the drawer-   
it had only killed with a cleaver once and was saving the second use   
for a much more special occasion. Perhaps to kill someone the cove   
spirit had grown to like...   
  
It's grin returned. It rose an outstretched hand and the cleaver rose   
with it. Bringing the sharp cutting utensil closer, the spirit aimed   
and sliced the air with it's arm, sending the cleaver with lightning   
speed at the lock and effectively cutting it in two.  
  
The drawer seemed to open by itself and a large butcher knife rose out   
of it. Satisfied, the spirit turned around and headed to the main   
staircase that would lead to the floors above... and the unsuspecting   
occupants sleeping soundly in their beds. The knife floated behind it   
as it rose up the staircase to the third floor.  
  
Walking off to the left, the spirit stopped at the end of the hallway   
in front of a room that read C36. It shrugged absently, it didn't   
matter what room. Any was good enough. The door unlocked itself from   
the inside with a *click* and opened to allow the spirit, and it's   
solid accessory, inside.   
  
It walked up to the bed expectantly and looked down at it's occupant.   
Good grief, another woman. It had been hoping to find a boy this time.   
It had been too long since a male had died by it's hands. It looked   
out the window at the black sky and shook it's head.   
  
No matter, it would search out a boy next time but for some reason it   
felt it's time growing shorter. It had to return to the foot of the   
cliff quickly. The spirit should have waited a bit longer. It knew   
better than to leave it's resting place with so little energy...  
  
It turned it's attention back to the woman sleeping soundly in her   
bed. This would have to be quick. The spirit laid its hand on the   
womans shoulder and slowly drained her of her energies. The stolen   
energy pulsed through the spirit until it- she became solid.   
  
Chuckling madly, the now solid spirit grabbed the knife and raised it   
above her head with both hands. The stars that shown through the open   
window glinted in her crazed eyes, revealing a horrifyingly sadistic   
expression as her chuckling grew to maniacal laughter. As she aimed   
for the heart the laughing abruptly stopped and her expression was   
replaced by one of overwhelming anger.  
  
Everytime she killed, she'd remember why it was that she was bound to   
her grave. A revenge never completely fulfilled became her shackles in   
the afterlife. The death of *one* man, no one *boy*, had managed to   
escape her grasp. The man who had ignored her, betrayed her, and left   
her for... for... With bloodcurdling scream she plunged her sharp   
edged rage into her victim's chest.  
  
-------------  
End of prologue  
  
Whatcha think? I know it's short but it's just the beginning. The   
next parts are on there way soon.  
  



	2. Arrival

Disclaimer: Gundam Wing and all it's drop dead gorgeous bishounen don't belong to me. -.- Sigh.  
Warnings: Shounen ai, AU, (((((1+2))))), a tiny little blood, angst, violence, & Death? ^.^;  
Authors note: Ok, this story is VERY Alternate Universe for an attempt to stay within the   
timeline and for it to work there is one change I must do to the original GW timeline: There   
was never a Deathscythe/Hell/02/ OR the Gundam Pilot Duo Maxwell. The rest of the story   
though, would take place after the end of the TV series.   
  
Night of the New Moon   
Part 1 'Arrival'  
  
Heero stared at his reflection in the bus window as it drove over the brick roads of an old  
American town. During the war, most of the conflict had taken place in Europe and Asia,  
with America playing very little part of it. Most of its cities were untouched by the  
destruction that other countries had suffered.   
  
Now, after it was over, it seemed like the ideal place to find peace without the constant  
reminders here and there of the carnage that had ended only a few weeks ago. Looking  
past his reflection he briefly noted the occasional Victorian and Colonial style architecture  
of the buildings he passed.   
  
It was amazing to think that something this old could have survived, not only through so  
many years but through a war as well. This small town seemed almost frozen in time,  
totally forgotten by the rest of the world. It was a quiet, secluded place that seemed to  
radiate warmth, and tranquility. Which was the very reason he'd chosen it...  
  
"Hey, kid. This is the last stop, you gonna get off?" Heero looked toward the bus driver  
who was eyeing him from his rear view mirror. He hadn't noticed when they'd stopped  
but the rest of the people were already gone. He grabbed his duffel bag and got up,  
walking to the front of the bus.   
  
The bus driver turned in his seat to look at him as he approached. "You must be new  
'round here." he said conversationally. "But you seem pretty young to be traveling alone,"  
he eyed the plain green duffel, "don't tell me a youngin' like you was involved in that  
nasty war as of late..." Heero stiffened and stopped in his tracks.   
  
The man squinted at him and readjusted his glasses. "Naw, you're much to young to have  
been a soldier..." He didn't reply. "I hope you didn't mind that I ask, some people get  
downright touchy when it comes to the war, but it's just that 'round here we kinda kept to  
ourselves and tried to distance ourselves from that nasty war as much as possible. I don't  
know what it was like in other places but I'm thankful for the seclusion here."   
  
Heero began to calm down as the man went on but he didn't advance. "Though, you  
definitely seem from out of town... Tell me, kid, you gotta place to stay?" he motioned to  
the area they'd stopped in, "This part of town doesn't exactly have a big residential area  
or many motels." Heero raised an eyebrow at him. This guy certainly seemed to get  
friendly with perfect strangers very quickly, but... "No, I don't."   
  
He nodded. "You're Asian, correct? That part of the world most certainly would've seen a  
lot of the war lately. I'll bet you're here to get away from it all, aren't you? I can  
understand that. I'm sure what you're looking for is some peace and quiet..." At that his  
face suddenly lit up as an idea came to him. "Perfect!" He quickly looked at his watch,  
nodded and looked back to Heero.   
  
"Listen kid, I don't have to return to the station for another half hour. Seeing as how you  
said you hadn't made arrangements for a place to stay I got an idea. A friend of mine  
owns an Inn not too far from here on the outskirts of town. He hasn't been fairing to well  
and I told him I'd direct any newcomers his way. How about I take you there?!" Heero  
just stood there, eyes widening slightly as the man rambled on. He'd thought he'd been  
keeping a low profile at the back of the bus but this man was acting as if Heero was  
someone he'd known for years.  
  
His friendliness and eagerness was... not something Heero was accustomed to. 'Maybe,'  
he thought, 'people in places like this are normally like that...' "Trust me, you'll love it  
there." he began again. "It's the oldest Inn in town but it's got a beautiful view. I try to go  
there with my family during the summer and the price is fairly reasonable." Heero took a  
deep breath and nodded as he sat down. Although the man seemed unusually kind, he  
wasn't going to argue. A quiet little Inn sounded just fine.  
  
----------  
Quiet? yes. Little? Absolutely not. After he'd settled for letting this man take him there,  
Heero had begun to grow suspicious when he noticed they'd gone at least three miles out  
of town with not a soul in sight. He had been about to say something when the Inn had  
come into view. Heero had been expecting a small, modest place but the size of this Inn  
was incredible.   
  
Once they arrived the bus driver parked in front and opened the door. "C'mon kid, I'll see  
you inside. Besides, I'd like to see how my old friend is doing." With that the man walked  
off the bus. Heero stood, grabbing his duffel bag and followed him. Once outside he  
stopped a moment to pull on his navy blue jacket.   
  
The air in this place was crisp and cool with the approaching nightfall and the sent of the  
ocean. Heero could see the sun setting on the horizon and hear waves crashing on the  
rocks below. He'd noticed when they were approaching that the Inn was situated on a  
small cliff that overlooked the ocean. The Inn itself was an eighteenth century three story  
building. Tastefully designed but something that seemed like it should belong to a museum  
rather than still be in use.  
  
"Hey, kid! You just gonna stand there in the cold or are you coming in?!" Heero looked  
back to the bus driver who was standing at the entrance to the Inn along side another,  
much older man. The bus driver laughed good-naturedly and looked at his watch. He said  
something to the other man and patted his back before running back towards Heero who  
was beginning to approach them.  
  
The bus driver stopped briefly at Heero's side, "Don't worry, kid. Kenji's more than  
happy to give you a place to stay. I gotta get going though, don't wanna be late." The  
man quickly took his hand, giving it a quick shake before running back toward his bus.  
Heero raised an eyebrow but said nothing and continued walking toward the waiting man.  
  
The old man at the front door squinted at Heero as he approached. Surprise crossed his  
features for a second before he smiled, "Konban wa, welcome to my humble Inn young  
man." When Heero was at the door the man held out his hand, "My name is Kenji Okada,  
I am the Inn keeper. It's nice to meet someone with a similar background in a small town  
such as this." Heero took his hand and shook it politely. "Heero Yuy."   
  
Okada nodded and opened the door, "Lets go inside, it gets pretty chilly out here at  
night." He held the door open for Heero and they both walked in. The inside of the Inn  
was warm and Heero detected the underlying sent of incense as soon as he walked into the  
room. Okada closed the door behind him and walked to the far side of the lobby, it looked  
more like a large living room, to a desk messy with folders and papers. Heero followed  
him, all the while looking around.   
  
The 'lobby' was actually very cozy. There was a fireplace on the other side of the room in  
which a fire seemed to be dying but could still be saved if fed more wood. Above it was a  
large painting partially shrouded in shadows, leaving the people in it unable to be seen  
from where he stood. The floor was polished wood and *everything* was done in old  
English oak. The furniture and rugs both seemed to be done in a curious English-oriental  
pattern...  
  
"So my friend tells me you were looking for privacy." Heero looked back to Okada who  
had opened up a notebook and was waiting, pencil in hand. The man was venturing,  
perhaps trying to start up a friendly conversation but after an entire day of traveling,  
Heero wasn't really in the mood for small talk. So he just nodded. The man smiled as if he  
understood and decided to continue the 'conversation' by himself.  
  
"Well, this is as good a place as any. I only have four guests here at the moment. It's the  
slow season and this big place is pretty empty." Heero almost smiled, the idea certainly  
was appealing. After asking Heero all the necessary information and jotting it down,  
Okada turned around to pick a key off the rack hanging on the wall behind the desk.  
  
"I'm going to put you on the third floor, Yuy-san." He paused to briefly check the room  
number on the key and nodded to himself. "There is only one other guest up there and I'm  
sure you'll find this room to your liking. It has a very nice view of the cove." Okada then  
motioned behind him, "the right wing has a few more rooms, my room, the laundry for  
long staying guests, and the kitchen."   
  
He then motioned to the hall on the opposite side, "The left wing has a study, a small  
library, the dinning room, and a den. Theres a lounge with a bar at the back which leads to  
the patio and the pool. Upstairs are just guest rooms but each floor also has it's own  
sitting room. Breakfast is served from eight to nine, lunch from noon to one and dinner  
from five to six but the bar is always open."  
  
When Heero nodded, Okada walked out from behind the desk and began heading toward  
the main staircase. "Follow me, I'll show you to your room." Heero picked up his duffel  
and followed the man upstairs, noting for the first time that there was a slight limp in the  
way he walked...   
  
"You know, you're the second young man to come here who has been traveling alone in  
the past week. It's a real treat considering I never receive guests as young as yourself.  
Usually my guests are a bit older and just looking for someplace secluded to relax, or the  
occasional couples. Things might start to get... interesting once again."   
  
He said the last part almost under his breath but Heero caught it. Least to say, it began to  
cause his over developed instincts to stir suspiciously. "'Interesting..?'" he repeated.  
Okada's stride hesitated a moment before he continued and stopped on the second floor.  
"Maybe I should've warned you earlier. You see, it's the reason why this Inn isn't doing  
so well... This place is haunted. Not the Inn itself, not really... but the area around it."  
  
Heero raised an eyebrow but silently urged the man to go on. He got the picture and  
sighed, "I usually warn my potential guests right away. I apologize. If you do not wish to  
stay I will not charge you for the night and refer you to another place in town in the  
morning." Heero shook his head, "I like it here. Besides, I don't believe in ghosts." The  
Inn keeper smiled slightly but sadly. "Oh, I guarantee that by the time you leave, you will."   
  
Okada turned around and began up the stairs again, continuing. "It is believed that there  
are two ghosts that roam about the area, actually. One has yet to be identified... but the  
other is a friendly youth that haunts the cove below the Inn. For some reason though, he  
only reveals himself to young people, which is why I said your presence here might  
become interesting."   
  
Heero snorted. "Do you really believe that?" Okada heard the skepticism in his voice and  
smiled. "Oh, yes. I've witnessed both them and their handiwork first hand." Heero  
frowned at that. "What do you mean by 'handiwork'?" Before, it had been Okada fishing  
for answers. Now it was him. He hadn't meant to actually strike up a conversation with  
the man but the Inn keeper had caught his curiosity.  
  
"Well, the cove spirit has never been hostile in the slightest but... there is another that has  
proven much more violent. You see, this Inn first opened in 1850, and has not stayed open  
without being restored more than once mind you, but my point is that since then there  
have been 67 deaths within or right outside the Inn." Heero's eyes widened slightly.  
  
"The first few, appeared to be accidents. A few guests had mysteriously fallen to their  
deaths over the side of the cliff, forcing the Inn keeper at the time to put in railings along  
the property for the protection of the people." They had reached the third floor and Okada  
had walked off to the left. Heero followed closely behind, listening intently.  
  
"But people kept falling anyway, and then later they began to find guests dead in their  
rooms, knives plunged into their chests over their hearts. The murders were always the  
same and always done under a new moon so the authorities suspected a serial killer. Of  
course, the Inn keeper was their first suspect but that was soon disproved. Throughout the  
years, the Inn acquired several owners but murders continued. Even through out the years,  
decades, and eventually centuries.  
  
"The towns people finally had enough and closed the Inn down long ago, in the hopes that  
the murders would cease. They did. People eventually forgot all about it until my  
grandfather came across this place in AC 100. He bought it, restored it and put it back  
into business. As soon as new guests arrived, the killings began again. My grandfather  
whole heartily believed one of the ghosts was responsible and tried everything from  
séances to exorcisms but nothing would ward away that vengeful spirit."  
  
They finally reached Heero's room at the end of the hall and Okada stopped in front and  
continued, "The last death to occur here only happened some ten months ago. This Inn  
has gained a very bad reputation because of these murders and I fear I will soon have to  
close it down." he said solemnly but he quickly shook his head, shaking off his mood at  
the same time and grinned at Heero, dangling the keys in front of him. "Still want to stay  
here youngin'?"   
  
Heero smirked and took the keys from him, unlocking the door to his room. "Like I said, I  
don't believe in ghosts." Okada crossed his arms as Heero entered, his expression never  
changing. "Well, I always leave the keys to the patio door on the bar counter incase one of  
my guests were to want midnight stroll. Why don't you head down to the cove tonight, or  
tomorrow night if you're feeling a bit tired. I'm sure our friendly neighborhood spirit will  
be glad to set you straight."  
  
Heero's smirk grew into a real smile and he almost laughed, "Maybe I will."  
  
----------  
Heero turned on the lights and, it being the first piece of furniture he saw, threw his duffel  
on the bed. The room was a good size, furnished to match the style of the lobby. To his  
right the head of the bed was up against the wall. Next to the bed was a nightstand with a  
single lamp and beyond that, closer to the door was the in-suite bathroom.   
  
Across the room Heero noted an oak dresser, with an oval bronze-framed mirror hung on  
the wall above it. To Heero's left was a narrow bookshelf, half full, and a closet. He  
walked across the room and opened the sliding glass door, stepping onto the balcony and  
closed it behind him absantly. Looking around he had to admit, Okada had been right  
about the view.   
  
The sun was still setting in the distance, painting both the sky and the ocean in shades of  
orange, gold, and purple. A cool breeze brushed passed him and his hand wandered up to  
close his unbuttoned jacket over his chest. The unexpected call of a dolphin pod brought  
his gaze down, below the cliff.  
  
The infamous cove was easily visible from his balcony. Just a small inlet in the cliffs that  
the dolphins had entered. There really was nothing special about it. It's bank was covered  
in sand like any beach would be but a rocky barrier separated it from the water.  
  
Most important of all.... there was no ghost.  
  
Heero 'humped' and looked back up in time to see the last of the sun disappear beyond  
the horizon. He'd known all along. The Inn keeper must've just read one too many ghost  
stories. Heero was about to turn around and go back inside when another sound caught  
his attention. One of the dolphins had approached a large boulder on the far side of the  
cove and was calling out.  
  
A hand then reached down to gently stroke the dolphins head. Heero blinked. It was a  
hand... *just* a hand. His eyes widened, "Masaka..." The hand was soon followed by an  
arm, a shoulder, a head, until the somewhat transparent body of a young boy emerged out  
of thin air. The dolphins ever-smiling mouth erupted in sounds of joy once the boy  
appeared and Heero heard the distant but deep, and yet still boyish voice of the young man  
laughing playfully in return.  
  
The boy swung a long chestnut braid over his shoulder as he sat up on the large boulder  
and looked toward the Inn... at him. Heero's eyes, already surprisingly wide, grew to an  
impossible size. The boy down below chuckled briefly, smiled at him and waved.  
  
-----------  
  
End of Part 1  



	3. The First Meeting

Disclaimer: Gundam Wing and all it's drop dead gorgeous bishounen don't belong to me. -.- Sigh.  
Warnings: Shounen ai, AU, 1+2, a tiny little blood, angst, violence, & Death? ^.^;  
Authors note: This story is going to be mostly plot developement up 'till part 4 but considering   
these parts are pretty short I don't think it'll take long to get to the action. Just something   
I thought I'd mention.  
  
Night of the New Moon  
Part 2 'The First Meeting'  
  
Heero ran down the stairs and down the first hall he saw. The end of the hallway opened  
up to the lounge just as the Inn keeper had said. Heero looked about frantically for the bar  
and spotted the keys immediately. Grabbing them, he ran to the patio door, unlocked it,  
swung it open and ran outside.  
  
Passing a small pool, Heero ran down the porch and onto the rich green grass, hastily  
leaving the Inn behind him. He ran towards the slope on the side of the cliff that would  
lead down to the cove and quickly but carefully slid down, so's not to break his neck.  
Cursing under his breath when he nearly slipped and getting impatient, Heero jumped the  
last five feet to the ground.  
  
Landing on his feet in the sand he looked up. The boy was stretched out over the boulder  
watching the dolphins as they played in the deceptively deep water. He was wearing  
tight-fitting brown leather pants and a white long-sleeved shirt. The sleeves fanned out  
over his hands, almost completely covering them, and the collar was wide enough that it  
exposed a portion of his chest despite being loosely laced together. The whole outfit alone  
told of a time-period long since gone.   
  
"It took you long enough." he said without looking up, even his voice smiling. Heero  
hesitated, surprised. "You knew I was... who are you?" The boy did look at him then.  
"Aw, don't tell me Kenji didn't tell ya about me." He said grinning from ear to ear. Then...  
he really was..? Heero frowned, "You're the ghost." The boy's smile faltered slightly, "I  
prefer spirit but yeah." He slid off the rock and walked over to him. Heero noted when  
moonlight glinted briefly against a crucifix hanging on a golden chain around his neck.  
Ghosts wear jewelry..?  
  
The thought was interrupted when the ghost stopped only two feet away. Heero fought  
the urge to take a step back. "I'd offer my hand but..." he glanced at his slightly  
transparent hand, then back to Heero and grinned sheepishly, "I guess it wouldn't do  
much good..." But Heero wasn't listening, instead his mind seemed to have wandered off  
somewhere else while struggling to make sense of this very real... or unreal vision before  
him.  
  
How in the hell was this possible? He'd never believed in ghosts, in fact he'd always  
thought the very idea was absurd and yet here was one, standing right in front of him. He  
was seeing him with his own two eyes and still couldn't believe it. "... well, anyway, my  
name's Duo. Whats yours?"   
  
Heero refocused on the spirit and swallowed hard, forcing all of his conflicting thoughts  
into the back of his mind to sort through later. "Heero." Duo raised an eyebrow, "Not  
very social, are you?" He crossed his arms in a mock-pouting gesture. "That'll have to  
change if you're gonna stick around this place... and here I was thinking you came down  
to at least talk with me.   
  
"It won't be fair if you make me carry the weight of the conversation. Besides, I don't get  
visitors down here everyday, ya know. It'd be nice to finally get to know someone other  
than the local aquatic life. I mean, they're fun and everything but they don't exactly talk  
back... what?" Duo raised an eyebrow at the face Heero was making. After a moment  
Heero finally couldn't hold it back anymore and laughed.   
  
Duo smiled, the guy may be a bit weird but he was real cute when he laughed... "C'mon,  
lets go over there. I'm not gonna spend the whole night on my feet." ...and without really  
thinking about it, Duo grabbed Heero's hand and began pulling him onto the smooth rocks  
toward the boulder. Heero's laughter died away when he felt Duo's cool hand in his and  
stopped.   
  
Duo turned around when he noticed, "Something wrong?" Heero looked down at Duo's  
very real hand, "You're solid. You weren't just a minute ago." Duo looked down at his  
hand, "Oh, I never notice when that happens anymore." Heero frowned, not  
comprehending, "how?" Duo let go of him and bit his lip guiltily, "I uh, can't really  
control it but... you see, you're kinda... giving me energy."  
  
Heero's eye's flew wide, "what??" Duo nearly cursed when he saw Heero's reaction. "If I  
could stop it I would but... it happens whenever anyone comes into the cove. This is my  
one safe place, I'm bound to it and it helps sustain me. Thats just one of the ways..."   
  
He shut his eyes and shook his head, "You're gonna run from me now, aren't you?" he  
turned around, "It's alright, happens all the time..." but before he could walk off Heero  
took hold of his arm. Duo glanced at him over his shoulder questioningly but when Heero  
opened his mouth, nothing came out.   
  
So he tried again, "I've never seen a gh... spirit before and I don't know what it means to  
be giving you energy but I know I feel fine." Heero struggled to find the right words, "but  
you're right, I guess I did come down here to talk with you". Duo faced him, a smile  
slowly creeping onto his pale face when he realized Heero wasn't going to leave after all.   
  
"I think I also came down here to see for myself whether you were real or... if I was just  
imagining things." Duo grinned, "I've been around for a pretty long time, Heero. Over the  
years the range of my senses has spread beyond just the cove. I knew it when you got  
here. You saw me 'cause I wanted you to see me," Heero raised an eyebrow but Duo  
didn't really notice, "and you just felt so... so... *different* from all the other people that  
come around here! I couldn't resist."  
  
Heero frowned, "resist what?" Duo gave him his most innocent look, only succeeding in  
getting Heero more suspicious. "I *really* wanted to meet you, Heero. I'll just say it's no  
coincidence that Kenji put you in a room facing the cove." Duo noted the surprise that  
briefly crossed Heero's features but before he could let himself enjoy it another thought  
came to him and he crossed his arms while looking back up at the Inn. "Though I've also  
been trying for days to get the attention of some DEADBEAT up there but all he does is  
ignore me! He doesn't believe in 'ghosts' and doesn't even bother looking out a window."   
  
Heero's lips quirked up again at the last statement. Duo was like no one he'd ever met...  
well, besides being a little dead. Still, unlike so many people he'd come across in the past,  
with the acceptation of the other Gundam pilots, Heero felt this was definitely someone  
worth getting to know. He took the unsuspecting Duo's hand and walked passed him  
toward the boulder.   
  
Duo followed with a broad smile. "Say, Heero. If you meet the deadbeat up there, you  
think you can send him down my way? I swear I've tried everything I could think of short  
of going up there and dragging him down here myself." Heero glanced behind him, "If you  
wanted to meet him that much then why don't you?" Duo blinked, and frowned. "I can't. I  
told you, I'm bound to the cove. I can never leave."   
  
Heero pulled himself onto the boulder and sat on the edge, feet dangling off the side.  
"Why not?" Heero asked as he reached down to give him a hand. Duo smiled slightly, he  
didn't need the help but he also remembered how easy it was for the people he came  
across in the past to forget he was a spirit, once he became solid, and could do things they  
couldn't. Duo accepted Heero's help nonetheless and sat down next to him.   
  
"I don't really know why to tell ya the truth. I've tried to figure it out for years but I just  
don't know *why* I can't leave." Duo shook his head and smiled, giving Heero a  
sideways glance, "Enough about me, what about you? I've been dying to know more  
about you from the second you got here." Heero's face slipped into a slightly defensive  
neutral when he heard that. "Nothing to tell." Duo frowned, he should've guessed his new  
friend wouldn't be very open...   
  
------------  
Kenji Okada closed the patio door as he stepped outside. The keys were missing and the  
door had been left open. He didn't have to guess why but he was surprised at how easy it  
had been make a believer out of one his age when it had been so hard to convince others  
just like him. Oh, and he was sure that if that kid was still down there, he believed whole  
heartily now.   
  
Okada took a deep breath and slowly sat down on one of the lounge chairs, being careful  
of his bad leg. Hours had passed since sunset and it was pitch black, save for the pool's  
underwater illumination that bathed the patio in watery blue light. His gaze traveled up to  
the stars and stopped when he encountered the moon. He frowned, the moon was in it's  
last quarter. It had been foolish of him to think that young visitors were a good thing.  
  
She hadn't killed in months and she hadn't killed any male's in years. Okada sighed  
heavily, neither one had told him when they expected to be leaving but he hoped for soon.  
It was only a few days until the next New Moon and even though there was no real  
guarantee that she would show up on *this* one... there was no assurance that she  
wouldn't either.  
  
Okada leaned back in his chair and glanced at the edge of the cliff just a few yards away.  
The place where it was said she had fallen from, hundreds of years ago. He would have to  
tell them all. Mostly he only told vague stories, like the one he'd told his new guest, but  
he'd soon have to tell all his guests exactly what was going on. He glanced up  
again and decided on tomorrow. The moon was disappearing rapidly and that didn't leave  
him with very much time.  
  
--------  
Heero looked at him out of the corner of his eye. They'd both eventually laid back on the  
boulder after a while. Heero had been looking up at the stars while listening to Duo talk  
about any number of different things and joining in occasionally. He had his arms crossed  
over his chest while Duo had tucked both arms under his head and was also gazing  
skyward.   
  
Duo had begun asking about the times and the things happening in the rest of the world,  
deliberately avoiding anything personal but he had at least succeeded in establishing  
Heero's ethnic background and place or origin. Telling Duo about the colonies had been  
interesting. The amazement had been expected but he'd had several hours worth of  
questions.   
  
Eventually though, the two of them had fallen silent, just enjoying each others company.  
But inexplicably, over the last few minutes Heero had begun to feel *very* drained. Duo's  
face slowly formed itself into a frown, "You were already tired when you came down here  
weren't you?" The question surprised him and he turned to face Duo directly, "why?" he  
sighed, "I can tell that you're worn out. It isn't good to come down here if you're already  
tired. If you do, you'll really start to feel the energy I take from you."   
  
Duo sat up and looked at him, "You should probably go now, before you're too tired to  
climb the slope." Heero sat up and nodded, he was right but.... but he was surprised to  
realize that he didn't *want* to go. He was about to tell him when Duo slid off the  
boulder and began walking backwards, toward the slope. "Well? You just gonna sit there  
all night?" he teased, grinning.  
  
Heero rolled his eyes and slid off the boulder, finding it surprisingly awkward to find his  
footing. He steadied himself against the boulder and Duo stopped and ran back toward  
him, "hey, you OK?" he asked, reaching out to help him. Heero glared, "I'm fine." Duo  
ignored him and pulled an arm around his shoulders, "Yeah, I know but I wouldn't want  
you to slip or something and fall flat on your..."   
  
"Duo!" Duo looked at him with wide innocent eyes and Heero shook his head. "Nothing,  
nevermind." Duo grinned, "Good, cause if you keep complaining I'll *carry* you the rest  
of the way." He groaned but let Duo help him. At the foot of the slope, Heero leaned  
against the side looking at Duo and was suddenly at a loss for words. He'd kept his  
good-bye's to the other pilots very brief and he'd really never bothered to say it to anyone  
else before. Ever.   
  
Duo however, wasn't tongue tied. "Hey, Heero, could you do me a favor?" "Hm?"  
"Could you come back an' see me one more time before you leave? I... uh, I'd love it if  
we could talk again." He looked at him hopefully but Heero didn't have to think about it,  
"sure." Duo smiled brightly, "great! Then I guess I'll see ya later." Heero surprised himself  
by smiling back but nodded and turned around to start his climb.   
  
---------  
Okada saw the boy from his seat as he climbed back up and waved down at the cove.  
He'd had no doubt that the boy had seen the ghost but if he had, this would've confirmed  
his suspicions. Okada was waiting patiently as he walked back toward the Inn. When  
Heero got to the porch he immediately noticed the I-told-you-so grin on the Inn keepers  
face and sighed.   
  
"Did you enjoy your midnight stroll, Yuy-san?" Heero gave him a look and the Inn keeper  
laughed, "Actually, I'm glad you decided to go down there. I've tried convincing others  
and had no luck at all." He leaned forward, the humor falling from his face, "That poor  
boy hasn't seen or talked to anyone in ages. I'd visit him myself but," he glanced at his leg,  
"With this bad knee, I'd never make it down there." Heero nodded and pulled the keys out  
of his pocket, offering them to him.   
  
"If you're staying outside then here are the keys. I'm going back in." The Inn keeper  
shook his head but he took the keys anyway, "It's very late, I think I'll be heading in  
myself." But as Heero was at the door, heading back inside Okada slid to the edge of his  
chair and called out, "Uh, Yuy-san?" Heero glanced at him over his shoulder, eyebrows  
raised. Okada smiled and held out a hand, "Do you think you could give an old man a little  
help out of this chair?"  
--------------  
  
End of Part 2  
  
Short, I know. Don't worry, they get longer ^.^;. 


	4. Ghost Stories

Disclaimer: Gundam Wing and all it's drop dead gorgeous bishounen don't belong to me. -.- Sigh.  
Warnings: Shounen ai, AU, 1+2, a tiny little blood, angst, violence, & Death? ^.^;  
Authors note: Like the title says, this part is basically one big ghost story. Kinda like   
the history behind our two ghosts. But anyway things are really meant to pick up in part five.   
  
Night of the New Moon  
Part 3 'Ghost Stories'  
by: Lotus-chan  
  
Morning came faster than it was wanted. Sunlight glittered over the condensation that had  
formed on the sliding glass doors and passed through to fall over a rumpled bed. It's  
occupant groaned and pulled a pillow over his face. It had been a struggle just to walk up  
the flight of stairs last night and he'd been so tired that he'd entered his room, fallen on the  
bed and gone to sleep right there. He hadn't even remembered to close the damn curtains.  
  
This wasn't like him. Heero made it a habit to get up early... but then again, he'd gone to  
sleep very early. Looking over at the nightstand, he glanced at the old fashioned wooden  
clock. 10:45. He'd missed breakfast. Not that he really cared though, he never ate  
breakfast anyway.   
  
Noticing an uncomfortable lump under his leg he sat up. His duffel bag, still unopened and  
unmoved from where he'd thrown it yesterday, lay under his knee. He'd gone right to  
sleep last night. Without unpacking or even changing his clothes. Heero sighed and got  
up. He got a few things out of the duffel and walked into the bathroom.   
  
After brushing his teeth and showering, Heero came out with a towel wrapped around his  
waist. He walked to the bed and pulled his boxers, a pair of faded jeans, and a tank out of  
his duffel bag and got dressed. He finished unpacking and after some deliberation, hid the  
gun he always carried, in the dressers bottom drawer under his clothes along with an extra  
clip. Stuffing his duffel bag under the bed, Heero walked to the front of the room and  
opened his door...  
  
At the same time the door next to his opened and Wufei stepped out.   
  
Heero froze in mid-step while Wufei nearly gapped in his shock, "Heero?!" Heero blinked,  
he couldn't believe it. "Wufei, how did... when... what are you doing here?!" Wufei  
crossed his arms, looking somewhere between confused and surprised, "The same you are,  
I suspect. Waiting it out someplace secluded until things can die down."   
  
Heero was about to ask what he meant when the sound of something shattering and a  
woman screaming from downstairs caught their attention and both took off at a dead run  
down the stairs to the lobby. Two women were holding back another angry woman who  
was spouting a number of curses at the Inn keeper. Okada somehow seemed to have  
fallen, or been pushed, back against a pedestal that had been holding a large oriental vase.  
They both determined that must've been the source of the shattering sound for it was in  
pieces all over the floor.   
  
Wufei summed up what had happened in a split second and stepped in front of Okada,  
eyes blazing. "Onna! How dare you strike an old man like that!" he exclaimed, pointing a  
menacing finger. Her struggles against the other two only increased when he intervened,  
"This is none of your business, kid! That old bastard lied to all of us and if he thinks I'm  
going to stay here one more night and let him kill me in my sleep HE'S GOT ANOTHER  
THING COMMING!" Wufei's eye's widened with rage not just at being referred to as a  
*child* but at the accusations this woman was making.  
  
Heero, meanwhile, was checking on the Inn keeper. Okada sat up and rubbed his back,  
wincing. "Are you ok?" Okada looked at Heero and tried to smile, "Don't worry about  
me. I'll be fine." Giving the woman another wary glance he looked around the room and  
spotted what he wanted on his desk. "Yuy-san, could you get me my cane, onegai?"  
Heero nodded and got up, walking around the two, he grabbed the cane on the Inn  
keepers desk and walked back to him. Okada took the cane in his hand as Heero helped  
him back on his feet.   
  
"He is NOT a murderer! This man has offered you his kindness and hospitality and this is  
how you repay him?!" Wufei nearly screamed. "I don't know how the twisted mind of a  
serial killer works! I'm leaving this place and coming back with the cops! Then you'll see!  
If he thinks I'm going to stay here another minute then he really *is* crazy! But I swear  
I'll see to it that this psychopath is brought to justice!"   
  
Heero's head snapped up at the last statement and he barely caught Wufei in time. "You  
dishonorable cur! Don't you dare talk to me about justice!" Wufei struggled in Heero's  
grasp, "Let go!" he growled and looked back at the women, "It go's against everything I  
am to hit a woman but you've just proven to me that you do not qualify as one!" The  
woman stopped in her struggles and gasped at the insult. "How dare you..."   
  
And for the first time, she noticed the blazing look in his eyes and took a step back. One  
of the other women, took advantage of her momentary shock and pulled her to the door.  
When she noticed, her expression turned to one of anger again, the new distance making  
her brave. "I'll..." but she never finished. The other woman next to her pulled a hand over  
her mouth and yelled, "Shut up already before he kills you!" and dragged her outside  
literally kicking and screaming.  
  
-----------  
Heero let go once the door closed but Wufei stood rigid, fists clenched tightly for a few  
moments to let himself calm down. Eventually he sighed and turned around, "Are you  
alright?" he asked. Okada smiled, "Nothings broken. But hey, I should be the one asking  
you that." His voice held a light edge to it and Wufei smiled. "From the bottom of my  
heart, I thank you both for helping me."   
  
Heero glanced back at the door when he heard the loud skidding of tire on gravel which  
could only have been a car pulling away. "Will she really call the police?" Okada sighed  
heavily and slowly but carefully walked toward the sofa and sat down. "C'mere and sit  
down boys, as my last remaining guests there are something's you should know."  
  
Heero and Wufei sat on the sofa across from him and waited for him. Okada placed his  
cane on the seat beside him and took a deep breath. "The police won't come, even if the  
young lady does go to them. The authorities here are very familiar with this place as well  
as myself and are also aware of how... overzealous some of my guests can be when told  
about the history of the Inn. Quite frankly they're tired of coming up here and usually only  
bother coming to take the body after another murder."   
  
Wufei was surprised by the bluntness of his words. It even seemed as though this was  
something he'd had to say many times before. "I've been warned that if one more death  
occurs here, then I must shut down the Inn for good." Heero cleared his throat,  
"Okada-san, not to change the subject but why was that woman angry with you?"   
  
Okada leaned back in the sofa and closed his eyes, "I told you both a vague story of what  
was going on here when you first arrived, so you knew how dangerous this place could be  
from the beginning but still stayed..." he sighed, "I thought that three women traveling  
alone might get spooked or grow uncomfortable here if they knew about the Inn's history  
and I hadn't planned on telling them... but long ago I promised myself that I would not  
keep the Inn's dark past from any of my guests... so I told them.   
  
"But I only told them about the ghosts on their first night. I left out the part about the  
murders until this morning and unfortunately something must've been misinterpreted  
because the rather vociferous young lady jumped to conclusions... and the rest you know."  
Heero nodded, now understanding.  
  
"You boys should probably go aswell." he said solemnly. "What do you mean?" Wufei  
asked. Okada turned a serious expression on them, "Neither of you are safe here. It is only  
a couple short days until the next New Moon and with your presence here there is a good  
possibility that (1)Selena will rise." Heero shook his head, "We can take care of  
ourselves."  
  
Okada looked from one to the other, "Do you two know each other?" "We've met  
before." Heero replied. Okada glanced almost questioningly at Wufei, "I see..." but he  
didn't take notice. "Okada-san, who is Selena?" Wufei asked. Okada smiled sadly and said  
almost to himself, "Selena... Well, people always say all old men are good for is telling  
stories... I hope you boys are comfortable because this is a long one." Heero raised an  
eyebrow but Wufei leaned forward and Heero noticed that he seemed genuinely interested  
in whatever Okada had to say.   
  
He shrugged and leaned back on the sofa. It surprised him a bit that Wufei seemed  
interested in what obviously appeared to be some sort of ghost story, since he was sure  
he'd now found the 'deadbeat' Duo had been talking about last night, but Wufei had been  
here longer than him and probably knew the Inn keeper a little better than he did. If there  
was another reason behind his wanting to know this, he'd ask later. For now he resigned  
himself to listen.  
  
Okada took a deep breath before beginning. "When you first arrived I told the both of you  
that there are two ghosts that roam about the area. A kind young man that never leaves  
the cove and another vengeful and murderous spirit who 'has yet to be identified'. That is  
not entirely true. I believe I have discovered that spirits identity as well as the past behind  
both. The local historic society took it upon themselves to research the happenings here  
along with the 'alleged' ghosts that haunt this place but they have made very slow  
progress.  
  
"I, on the other hand, conducted my own study on the history of the building and the  
restless dead and have come to my own conclusions based on the information I found in  
the towns Hall of Records and the Inn itself, such as court confessions, personal journals  
and other various written accounts. You see, this Inn was first built and maintained by the  
Maxwell family. There are no surviving members of that family in existence today but the  
things they left behind in this place when it was sold by the last Maxwell have greatly  
aided my research.  
  
"The real story behind the ghosts themselves though, begins somewhere in the mid to late  
1700's AD This town, quite literally, had been built and was owned by two of the  
wealthiest families in New England America: the Maxwell family and the Yuy family." (2)  
Heero turned his drifting eyes back on Okada. Wufei spared his friend a brief glance  
before looking a question back at the Inn keeper. Okada smiled, "Odd coincidence, ne?"  
"Please continue Okada-san." Heero said. Okada smiled, *now* he was interested. He bit  
back his next comment and did as asked.  
  
"Well, both families had generations of ties together and instead of becoming rivals like  
some had expected, worked together in building this town and in many other business  
transactions within or outside the town. Both were very powerful and politically influential  
families who made several contributions to help the efforts of the revolution. Maxwell and  
Yuy were so close that they built their estates next to each other and visited frequently. In  
fact, we are now on the very edge of what was once the Maxwell grounds.   
  
"Maxwell Manor is just a couple miles up the coast line. I believe today it is a large  
museum. The Yuy Mansion is a few miles in the other direction and is now the  
headquarters of our local historical society..." "Okada-san." Heero said. The Inn keeper  
looked up from his contemplation's and blinked, "Oh, pardon. Back to the story... um...  
oh yes.  
  
"Things *really* begin when Mrs. Maxwell and Mrs. Yuy gave birth only hours apart to  
their families healthy male heirs, Duo Maxwell and (3)Katsuhiro Yuy." Heero's eyes  
widened and Okada smiled, knowingly. "Yes, *that* Duo Maxwell." Wufei looked back at  
Heero then to the Inn keeper, "Did I miss something?" Okada shook his head, "not really  
but you'll see in a moment." Wufei frowned but didn't ask. Okada obviously wanted to  
continue.  
  
"Anyway, from the very beginning the two boys were brought up almost as brothers. Mrs.  
Maxwell and Mrs. Yuy had been very close and decided that they would raise their  
children together, from their schooling to their family life and eventually the two young  
heirs became inseparable. Thats is, until their teenage years. According to the court  
testimony of Katsuhiro Yuy as well as what I..." he cleared his throat awkwardly,  
"...found in the personal journal of Duo Maxwell, things began to change dramatically  
when the boys hit sixteen.  
  
"To get right down to the point, they stopped seeing themselves in a 'brotherly' sense  
when they discovered... deeper feelings for each other." Wufei's face did a slow burn and  
he looked off to the side before someone noticed. Heero was keeping his expression  
carefully neutral. He couldn't explain why but hearing that Duo had feelings for someone  
made him uncomfortable. Mostly, for some reason he couldn't explain, it made him angry.   
  
Okada was enjoying their reactions. He'd never had this much fun telling anyone this  
story. Noticing the way Wufei was avoiding his gaze he grinned and was about to mention  
it him when Wufei's eye's flew wide. Okada frowned, "What is it?" Wufei straightened up  
in the sofa but didn't look at him, his eyes were fixed on the painting above the fireplace.  
He looked at it and smiled, "Oh, yes. I forgot to mention that."   
  
Okada looked straight at Heero with a grin that raised the hairs on the back of his neck.  
"Heero. I don't believe you've seen the painting." Heero raised an eyebrow and glanced  
up without moving from his position. Okada had to put in extra effort to keep from  
erupting in laughter when he saw Heero's shocked expression. Kami, but life was full of  
surprises. Heero's mouth was opening and closing in his failed attempts to voice what was  
on his mind.   
  
Wufei beat him to it, "Oy, that... thats Heero!" Okada *did* laugh then. They both looked  
at him as if he were out of his mind. "Old man, what are you laughing at?!" Wufei  
demanded. Okada was shaking a hand and trying to calm down. "I... I have to admit, when  
I first saw young Yuy-san I was shocked at the resemblance but at least let me explain."  
He smiled and looked back at the painting. "This was a gift from Maxwell Manor to the  
Inn many years ago. Its been here longer than I have. The two in the painting are Duo and  
Katsuhiro." But despite himself, he fell more serious the longer he looked at it.  
  
In the painting a young boy with long braided chestnut hair had arms wrapped around the  
neck of another youth and was smiling playfully. Violet-blue eyes sparkled in the sunlight,  
seemingly by themselves telling of a young man who was full of life. The other boy in the  
painting was smiling back at the first. Dark brown, nearly black bangs fell over cobalt blue  
eyes. The Japanese boy held a striking resemblance to Heero. In fact, they could've been  
twins.  
  
"This painting was done only a few months before the... accident." Okada said. Wufei  
looked back at him, "What accident? What happened?" Heero didn't say a thing. He was  
still looking at the painting... but not at his near-twin. Okada played the non-observant and  
pretended not to notice but kept watching Heero out of the corner of his eye as he  
continued.  
  
"After some time the two fell very much in love but for Duo and Katsuhiro growing older  
meant their duties and responsibilities grew as well and they had less and less time  
together. Also well aware that society would not permit a romance between two men they  
grew increasingly worried that they might be discovered.   
  
"One day, their fears became a reality when both their mothers walked in on a... small kiss.  
They were immediately separated by their horrified parents who eventually blamed each  
others children for being sinful and/or perverted and without bothering to listen to either  
of their childrens reasoning, forbade their sons from ever seeing each other again.  
  
"The two however, would not be deterred. Their servants and attendants had long been  
aware of the romance and sympathized. For the next few weeks they helped them by  
secretly passing notes and letters from one household to the other. Although still unable to  
see each other, Duo and Katsuhiro were now able to keep in touch. They wrote long  
letters to each other everyday... until news came of the next disaster to hit their lives.  
  
"Mrs. Yuy must've been more affected by the thought of her son being involved with  
another male than she let on because she panicked and within weeks had forced Katsuhiro  
into an arranged marriage with a young lady from out of town. It was said that her family  
was one of the wealthiest in Europe at the time. Katsuhiro had met her briefly many times  
before but it obviously had been enough for him to despise her.   
  
"Excerpts from her personal diary, however, hint that she must've fallen in love with him  
at first sight and a look into her private life would reveal an almost inappropriate obsession  
with him. So when his mother proposed the idea of an arranged marriage, Selena jumped  
at the chance. Needless to say Katsuhiro was appalled that his mother would do such a  
thing to him against his will. Duo, by all accounts, was devastated.   
  
"The bride-to-be arrived soon after his mothers announcement and so began Katsuhiro's  
relentless attempt to ignore and avoid her whenever possible. He began writing more and  
soon proposed that they meet. He could no longer stand to be anywhere near Selena and it  
had been too long since the two of them had seen each other. Duo agreed, and if I  
remember correctly, was the one who suggested the cove.  
  
"The wedding was to take place in a month and while the giddy young maiden helped to  
make preparations, her unwilling fiancée was meeting his true love every night. And they  
met EVERY night possible, as soon as it was dark enough. Their servants kept watch and  
helped by sneaking them out and later back in." Okada smiled, "One even later confessed  
to sneaking into his masters bed, pretending to be him when his mother came to look in on  
him.  
  
"Eventually though, not even this would last. Selena began to notice how her fiancée was  
tired most of the time and would fall asleep at odd moments. By then it was three days  
before the wedding and naturally she expected him to be as excited as she was. She grew  
suspicious of his behavior and began watching him carefully. That night, Katsuhiro's  
attendants were unable to hide him from her watchful eyes and she followed him without  
them knowing.  
  
"Selena was shocked when she arrived at the cove behind Katsuhiro only to find that Duo  
was there waiting for him. She was even more devastated when the first thing they did was  
fall into each others arms and share a kiss. She later wrote herself that she'd felt insane  
with anger when she stayed and overheard their plans to elope the night before the  
wedding.  
  
"Selena had been previously warned by Mrs. Yuy that she'd caught the two of them  
together once before and fully blamed the other boy for perverting her sons mind,  
although Mrs. Maxwell had made similar accusations towards *her* son, Selena  
completely believed Mrs. Yuy and developed a burning hatred toward the other boy  
almost instantly. The next day Selena confronted Katsuhiro.   
  
"She told him she had followed him to the cove the night before and heard everything. She  
began to say things like she'd forgive him because it wasn't his fault, that Duo was  
tricking him and proceeded to spout her delusions of a happy marriage. But when she  
began to insult his lover, Katsuhiro erupted in anger. In that moment he let go of  
everything he'd been holding back for the past three and a half weeks and told her clearly  
that he didn't care about her and never had.   
  
"That he, infact, couldn't stand her and that he was in love with Duo and went to him  
every night of his own free will. It was at that moment that something within her must've  
snapped because by all other accounts, for the rest of that day she was abnormally quiet,  
withdrawn and snapped at anyone who asked her what was wrong or offered their help."  
  
Okada leaned back in the sofa to take a deep breath and a brake. The continuing silence  
caused him to look at the two sitting across from him. They were both still there. Surprise  
surprise. But they also seemed to be waiting. "And?" Wufei asked. Okada sighed but  
nodded, "Most of what happened next is only according to Katsuhiro's court confession.  
There were no other witnesses that night...  
  
"As you know, the two had planned to run off together on the night before the wedding  
and when that night came Katsuhiro was anxious for the sun to go down and darkness to  
come. He packed a few meager belongings and waited for the sun set in his room,  
announcing that he was going to bed early to be ready for the wedding tomorrow and was  
not to be disturbed for any reason. His mother was only too happy to comply.  
  
"Selena hadn't said a word of Katsuhiro's plans to anyone and he didn't care. It was a  
New Moon that night so it was darker than usual when Katsuhiro ran from the house,  
without anyone the wiser. The cook, however, had seen Selena leave the kitchen when the  
sun set, almost in a daze. He later commented that he'd never seen such a frightening  
expression on her face or on anyone's face in his life. Selena followed her fiancée again  
that night, not even careful to keep from being seen. Many said they saw her heading off in  
the direction of the cove but the servants were so frightened by her demeanor and the  
cleaver she held in her hands that no one bothered her.   
  
"Though, I'm sure that if they would've known Duo and Katsuhiro were to meet and  
leave that night, they would've stopped her. Katsuhiro arrived at the cove first but didn't  
have to wait long because Duo arrived a short time later. According to him, Duo slid  
down the slope and ran toward him. Katsuhiro met him halfway and embraced him  
immediately. At that point, Selena, who had been hiding behind a few rocks could no  
longer contain her rage.   
  
"Her fury at being humiliated and rejected by her fiancée in favor of another *male* rose  
to its peak and she ran from behind the rocks ready to strike down the man who she felt  
had betrayed her. Katsuhiro had his back toward her and didn't see her coming but Duo  
did. As Selena came up behind him and lunged, Duo pushed him out of the way. But her  
momentum was too great for her to stop and before Duo could move she plunged the  
cleaver into his heart."  
  
As Okada spoke this Wufei couldn't help but notice that Heero was clutching the cushion  
of the sofa so tightly his knuckles were white. Fearing he might rip the cushion, Wufei  
placed a hand on Heero's shoulder. Heero spared him a brief glance before returning his  
full attention to the Inn keeper. Wufei sighed quietly. They would definitely have to talk  
after this but he left him alone for now.   
  
"Katsuhiro was momentarily frozen in shock." Okada continued, "Selena took that  
opportunity to pull the bloody cleaver out of Duo's body. The wild look in her eyes is  
what finally snapped him out of it. According to him, the expression on her face as she  
looked at him was inhuman and at that point he remembered she'd said something along  
the lines of 'if I can't have you, no one can' when she charged at him.  
  
"Having no weapon to defend himself with and half scared shitless, Katsuhiro ran. He  
climbed up the slope as fast as he could but she was right behind him, mad with rage.  
Once at the top, she backed him into the edge of the cliff and with a final scream she  
lunged at him but he stepped out of the way before the cleaver could hit it's target. The  
sheer momentum of her lunge again taking control, she was unable to stop herself when he  
dodged. Stumbling forward on the edge she slipped and fell to her death on the rocks  
below.  
  
"Ever since then, the two that expired on that night of the New Moon have been haunting  
the places they died. They've been there for centuries, one looking for a way out, the  
other looking for a way to fulfill her revenge. Selena rises every few random number of  
New Moons to kill again, which is why I don't believe either of you are safe here." Okada  
stressed and looked back at the two. Heero had crossed his arms and he seemed to be  
glaring at the floor. Wufei looked curious, "Whatever happened to Katsuhiro?" he asked.   
  
The Inn keeper shrugged, "Went to court, of course and told it all. They let him go but he  
was never quite the same after that. He grew bitter and hateful toward life in general and  
his social life suffered but when he showed no interest in settling down by age twenty his  
mother married him off to a wealthy young widow. She eventually gave him two sons but  
he was still a very unhappy man for the rest of his life.   
  
"I think he even made a failed attempt at suicide when his wife was pregnant with her third  
but I don't remember well. I'd have to double check. And unfortunately he never did  
return to the cove." Wufei nodded. Heero suddenly stood up, "Excuse me." and with that,  
he walked out of the lobby. Wufei sighed and stood, "We'll talk later, ne?" Okada nodded,  
understandingly. He'd also seen the look on Heero's face. "I'm sure you two have some  
things to discuss." 'Do we ever...' Wufei thought as he followed Heero down the hall.  
  
--------------  
End of Part 3  
  
(1) Think of it as if the romanji spelling were Seliina. With a strong English E sound on  
the second e, not like the famous Hispanic singer. BTW I deliberately choose this name  
for how close it sounds to the name of another GW character. ^.~  
(2) Ok, we ALL know that there weren't Japanese families in America in the 1700's but  
for a little while, lets pretend there were. K?  
(3) Sound familiar, ne? ::snickers::  



	5. The Living and The Dead

Disclaimer: Gundam Wing and all it's characters don't belong to me.  
Warnings: Shounen ai, AU, 1+2, a tiny little blood, angst, violence, & death? ^.^;  
Authors note: Tiny bit of language here. Nothing serious. This is the last part I post   
that will focus on plot developement. It only gets better from here. ^.^  
  
Night of the New Moon  
Part 4 'The Living and the Dead'  
by: Lotus-chan  
  
Heero proceeded to ignore Wufei when he followed him into the hallway. "Heero." Heero  
didn't answer, slow down or look back. Wufei frowned and walked ahead, stopping in  
front of him. Heero growled, "Get out of my way." Wufei had no intention of moving,  
"Look, I don't understand why that story made you this upset but either way we need to  
talk. Now." He opened the door conveniently placed to his right and waited. Heero  
scowled at him but to avoid further trouble, entered. Wufei followed him inside and closed  
the door behind him.  
  
They were in the library. Its walls were lined with shelves full of books, most of which  
looked older the he was. There was a plain wooden table set under one of the windows  
with two matching, and very uncomfortable looking, chairs on either side of it. In the  
middle of the room was another, yet very low table surrounded by bean bags and stacked  
with magazines and a few old manga. The rest of the library was littered with overstuffed  
armchairs.   
  
Wufei walked over to the table and sat down in one of the chairs. Heero followed the suit,  
sitting across from him and leaned back in the chair, crossing his arms. "Well? What do  
you want?" he asked bitterly. "I'm not blind, Yuy. I saw the way you reacted to the story  
and I know I missed a few things while the Inn keeper was telling it. I want to know whats  
going on." Heero was still glaring at him but Wufei didn't seem phased by it. He returned  
Heero's glare with one of his own, every bit determined to sit there and wait an eternity if  
he had to, to get an answer.   
  
When Heero still didn't move, Wufei sighed and decided to elaborate. "Ok, when Okada  
was talking about this killer ghost, you responded almost as if you bought into what he  
was saying. Like you actually believed..." "And what about you?" he snapped,  
interrupting. "You looked every bit as interested in what Okada had to say. I didn't think  
you believed in ghosts, Wufei."   
  
He frowned, "I don't. It's all bull. Ever since I got here, Okada's been spouting stories  
incessantly about a pair of ghosts that supposedly haunt the cliffs and kill people. I've just  
been trying to make sense of it all, for lack anything better to do..." He tilted his head to  
the side slightly as he watched Heero. "Back when we were looking at the painting, the  
two of you seemed to know something I didn't... about the other guy. I mean, the one that  
*didn't* look like you."   
  
Wufei noted with curiosity that Heero stiffened and shifted uncomfortably in his seat.  
Heero was never fidgety. Wufei's eyes widened slightly, "Don't tell me you believe all this  
ghost crap." Heero's gaze shifted to the window and didn't answer right away. It made  
sense that Wufei didn't believe any of it. He hadn't believed it either at first. Then again,  
Wufei hadn't met Duo yet... which suddenly reminded him of Duo's request.  
  
Wufei was noting with interest that the anger was slowly fading from Heero's face and he  
wondered what he could be thinking. But Heero shook his head at that moment and  
frowned again, "It isn't any of your business what I believe." Wufei's expression became  
serious at the response, "No, I guess it isn't." but the seriousness fell from him almost as  
soon as it came, "I should know better than to try to figure you out." Heero smirked at  
that.  
  
Wufei sighed and leaned forward, folding his arms over the table. "How did you find this  
place, Heero?" Heero raised an eyebrow at him, "I should ask you the same question."  
Wufei stared down at the table, looking every bit as wistful as he felt. "I can't go back to  
L5 anymore. I'd hoped to go to China where I planned to look for the rest of my family  
but... I couldn't stay. They were already looking for me there. I had to find a place like  
this, as far away as possible.   
  
"It was Master O's idea for me to come here. The war is over and fighting is pointless  
now. I'd rather just avoid them for as long as I can." His voice sounded tired when he said  
it and under any other circumstance Heero would've left it alone but there was something  
he didn't quite understand. "What do you mean by 'them'?" Wufei looked at him  
surprised, "You don't know? I thought Doctor J would've told you by now."   
  
Heero shook his head without moving his gaze from the boy across from him, "When I  
said good-bye, I meant it. I cut myself off from everyone long ago." Wufei nodded to  
himself and sat back, "Then us meeting here really was coincidence." he paused, "Heero,  
the war may be over but it seems we're not out of the woods yet." Heero's brows  
furrowed. "What do you mean by that."   
  
Wufei sighed, "Master O has informed me that although the Romefeller Foundation is  
under going several changes to accommodate for times of peace, there are still some  
people within who hate the colonies and despise us even more. Whoever they are, they're  
bitter that we reached the end like this and they still want their revenge. They are delaying  
the extraction of our execution orders for as long as possible even though the military is  
slowly being dissolved."   
  
He shook his head, "But it's not enough. They seriously want us dead. A few days ago a  
bounty was announced by a 'nameless client'. There is a contract of 5.5 million credits  
offered for *each* one of us. Naturally, what condition we're in at capture is not of  
concern to the 'client'. Dead or Alive, as the cliche goes." Heero's frown had only  
deepened. Life seemed to be delivering him one shock after another recently. The latest  
few hadn't been that bad. So ghosts existed, so what?   
  
But this... this was *not* good. The earth was crawling with bounty hunters. To be blunt,  
it would only be a matter of time before they were found. The colonies were always an  
option, of course but odds were thats the first place they'd look. "You're sure there aren't  
any restrictions or conditions? Is there a time limit on the contract?" Wufei shook his  
head. "K'so..."   
  
There was a sudden knock at the door and he instinctively reached behind him for a gun  
that wasn't there. Heero cursed under his breath, he'd have to start carrying it again. "You  
boys in there?" Heero ignored the Inn keepers voice and looked at Wufei, who's right  
hand had unconsciously reached across his waist for something he was very obviously not  
carrying. Could he still have his sword somewhere? "Hai." Wufei answered.   
  
"Well, Sofie came up and prepared lunch. It'll be waiting for you whenever you're ready."  
After a moment of silence, footsteps signaled Okada had finally walked away. Heero  
looked at Wufei, eyebrows raised, "Sofie?" Wufei smiled as he stood up, "The cook." And  
just like that the tension in the air seemed to have vanished. Heero stood gratefully and  
followed Wufei to the door.   
  
As he stared at the back of the ex-Chinese pilot, Heero sighed inwardly. A bounty meant  
trouble and certain discovery no matter where they went. A place like this would only  
delay the inevitable. All he knew was that he'd be very grateful if the next greatest  
problem he faced was dragging Wufei down the cliff with him.  
---------  
  
"I'm coming! I'm coming!" Wufei cursed for the second time when he tripped over the  
steps of the back porch and barely caught himself before he fell. He'd never seen Heero  
this... animated before and frankly, it was getting on his nerves. He couldn't believe he'd  
let Heero talk him into this. At least now Wufei knew whether or not his comrade believed  
Okada's ghosts stories.   
  
"You're both full of it, you know that Heero?" He said it under his breath but Heero  
caught it right away and grinned. When Wufei caught up with him, they were already half  
way to the slope. Wufei crossed his arms and walked beside him silently, sulking. Heero  
had *insisted* that they go down only after the sun set despite Wufei's protests of the  
cold.   
  
Wufei had donned the long sleeved white shirt he almost always wore but Heero had just  
slipped on a jacket over the tank and walked out like that. Wufei noticed out of the corner  
of his eye that it wasn't even buttoned and Heero didn't seemed at all bothered by it. And  
here he was, freezing. Damn him.   
-----------  
  
At their brisk pace, set by an obliviously eager Heero, they reached the edge within  
moments and slid down the rocky slope. Heero absently noted that it was much easier  
when he wasn't in such a hurry. Careful of his footing, he made his way to the bottom,  
looking for any sign of Duo along the way. His gaze set on the boulder and he stopped.   
  
Duo was half hanging off the boulder, upside down, his head inches from the water. The  
only reason his thick braid hadn't fallen in was he'd tucked it around his neck. He didn't  
seem to have noticed them when they came down. Heero looked behind him to see if his  
friend had followed him. Wufei was indeed walking toward him, dusting off his white  
clothing, "Well?" he asked. "Where's the ghost?"   
  
Heero made a face at the cynicism and mutely began walking toward the boulder. As soon  
as Wufei's gaze fell upon Heero's destination he frowned curiously and squinted. Walking  
up next to Heero he folded his arms over his chest, "Heero, that's not a ghost, that's just  
another guy. He's probably a local." his voice held an unbelieving tone that Heero didn't  
miss. But it wasn't his job to convince Wufei of what Duo was. He agreed to bring him  
down here, that was it.  
  
Heero frowned as he climbed onto the slick rocks. Duo wasn't moving. He was staring  
out at nothing almost as if in a trance. So still, it didn't even look like he was breathing.  
Heero caught himself at the last thought. For a second, he'd forgotten Duo was dead... did  
he even need to breathe?   
  
He stopped at the boulder and Wufei stood next to him, giving him a questioning glance  
when no one moved, but Heero was still trying to take in the solemn look that shown  
completely alien on Duo's face. Finally Wufei nudged him. He shook his head, coming out  
of his own brief reverie, "Duo."  
  
Duo started and looked up. Heero's frown deepened when an emotion that shouldn't have  
been there flashed across Duo's face before being replaced by the ever-present smile.  
What on Earth would someone like Duo have to be afraid of...? "Hi!" Duo raised himself  
back effortlessly onto the boulder with supernatural grace. Wufei blinked at it but that was  
all the visible response.   
  
He jumped off the boulder and with two quick steps tackled Heero. Heero's eyes widened  
as the other boy hugged him. "I didn't think you'd be coming back so soon!" His  
happiness seemed so genuine that Heero found himself hugging the braided boy back, the  
frown disappearing. Wufei raised an eyebrow, "coming *back*?"   
  
Duo pulled away to look at Wufei and his expression brightened even further, if that were  
possible. "It's YOU! Wufei right?!" Wufei looked a question at Heero but Heero shook  
his head. He hadn't told him. "How did you know my name?" Duo grinned, "I've known  
that for a while now. I've been dying to meet you ever since you got here! You and Heero  
are NOTHING like the people who usually stay at the Inn and I NEVER get to see  
anyone 'cause people get spooked real easy when they hear Kenji's ghost stories."   
  
He frowned in a mock-pouting gesture, "You'd think he was *trying* to scare people off  
on *purpose*." but the smile returned just as fast, "No one's ever had a ki that caught my  
attention like this! It's been decades since anyone's been down here, ever since Kenji hurt  
his knee an' got older an' stuff. This is so cool! You never even look out a window,  
Wufei. I was afraid you'd leave before I could talk with ya!"   
  
Wufei's eyes were slowly widening the more Duo went on. He'd never known a person  
could... talk like that. He shook his head, "Wait a minute. You're telling me your this  
ghost Heero and Okada keep talking about?" Duo's smile wavered, "I prefer spirit."  
Wufei stepped back and gave Duo a very scrutinizing look. Duo blinked and Wufei circled  
him until he came back to Heero. "Ok, you *do* look a little like the guy in the painting  
but I'm still not buying it."  
  
Wufei took a step closer and took Duo's arm, "If you're dead or a spirit or whatever then  
shouldn't you be see-through or something? Or at least cold?" Wufei let go and Duo  
looked down at his hands, puzzled. He *was* warm. How could he have not noticed a  
change this fast? "You look very much alive to me." Heero was curiously silent during all  
this.  
  
Duo opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by a soft beeping sound.  
Wufei started and reached under his shirt to pull out a square beeper sized object that had  
been attached to the rim of his pants. (1) Altron's alarm was beeping steadily in his hand.  
Heero's eyes widened, "You brought your Gundam here?" Wufei was too busy  
concentrating on crushing the alarm in his fist to hear him, "I didn't think they'd find me  
this quickly..."   
  
"Who'd find you? Something wrong, Wu?" Wufei ignored his questions and turned to  
Heero, "Altron's hidden in a cave in the cliffs about a mile from here. I'm going down  
there to see who or what set off my alarm. If I'm not back by morning, leave." Wufei  
turned to go but Heero took his arm before he could run off. "I should go with you."  
Wufei shook his head, "I can take care of myself Yuy and if worse comes to worse it's  
best that only one of us be taken and not both."  
  
Wufei's voice held such determined finality that Heero let him go. Wufei climbed up the  
slope faster than he'd thought he could and disappeared over the top within seconds. Duo  
cleared his throat, "As much as I love being ignored, I can't help but be a little curious.  
What the hell just happened??" Heero shook his head and turned back to Duo, "Nothing,  
forget it." "Oh, no you don't! Wufei looked like he was gonna have a cow when that little  
thingy went off and I wanna know why he had to leave!"  
  
Duo crossed his arms and tapped his foot on the rocks as if that was the final word. Heero  
sighed relenting, "The short version would be that Wufei and I made enemies during the  
war that are still a threat to us even after it's end." Duo raised an eyebrow, "I get the  
feeling there's a whole lot more to it than that." Heero shrugged and walked passed him to  
climb up onto the boulder.   
  
Realizing that he wasn't going to get any more information out of him at the moment,  
Duo resigned himself and joined him. When Duo leaped up and sat next to him with all the  
grace of a true ghost, Heero hesitated a moment and then took the spirits hand. "Why so  
fast this time?"   
  
The question caught Duo off guard and he looked at Heero as the former pilot inspected  
his now warm and tangible hand. He shrugged casually, "I suppose it's because there were  
two people down here this time. The cove will only give me so much from one person  
unless I take it myself. Two people means twice as much energy." "Oh..."   
  
Heero looked up at Duo then, allowing a curiously worried expression to fall over his  
face, "Duo, when Wufei and I came down here you didn't even notice us. I saw the look  
on your face. What's wrong." The humor drained from Duo's face in record time. He sat  
there in silence for several seconds just looking into Heeros face before finally shifting his  
gaze, looking past him to the opening in the cove.   
  
Heero turned to see what Duo was looking at and found that the dolphin pod was  
swimming far out in the distance. "They won't come near the cove this close to a new  
moon." Heero turned back to him when he spoke again but found that Duo was still  
looking past him. "They're too scared." As he gazed into the spirits face Heero felt  
unprepared for what he saw.  
  
Duo had left himself completely open to Heero without realizing it and in his eyes was  
such a deep sadness and loneliness that it made something within Heero's chest tighten.  
He had to look away. But before he had, he'd caught a glimpse of something else as Duo  
gazed at the animals swimming in the distance. Longing... envy. "Duo."  
  
Duo trained his gaze back on his friend, his expression little changed. Heero sighed  
inwardly and looked back at him, "What are you afraid of, Duo. What could someone like  
you possibly have to be afraid of? That woman?" Duo's eyebrows rose at the last bit,  
"You know 'bout Selena?" Heero nodded, "Hai, but... you're dead. What can she possibly  
do?" Duo chuckled, but it was dry and without humor. "She can take my existence from  
me, for starters."   
  
Heero's brows furrowed at the comment, "What do you mean your 'existence'?" Duo  
sighed. "I'm dead, Heero. You'd think it couldn't get much worse than that but it does.  
For now I'm stuck here and after centuries of trying to figure it out I still don't know how  
to leave. I figure I'll be here for all eternity or at least until Selena decides shes bored  
enough to take my existence from me.  
  
"I don't know how she can do it but she can, its one of those things I just *know*. Like  
how she can leave her grave and I can't. We're supposed to be bound to our graves, we're  
not supposed to able to leave but she cheats." Heero raised an eyebrow, "how?" Duo  
passed a hand through his messy chestnut bangs. "Well, she doesn't appear every night  
like I do. Even conjuring up a visible form takes energy. She kinda... lays dormant for a  
few months until shes saved up enough energy to be able to leave and do her dirty work  
without any outside help.  
  
"You see, normally, if we *tried* to leave our grave sites without enough energy to  
sustain ourselves we'd simply cease to exist. With a normal death you at least go  
somewhere. You move on or something I guess, but if a ghost 'dies' they just stop...  
being." Heero was stunned, "You're not joking." He shook his head. "Iie," he paused. "I  
wonder sometimes why she's stalling. Why she doesn't just do it and get it over with..."   
  
Heero had no answer to that. In fact, he didn't know what to say. He sat in awkward  
silence for a few moments until Duo finally broke it. "You should leave, you know.  
You're no safer staying here, especially now." Heero shook his head. "I already went  
through this with the Inn keeper. I can take care of myself. I'm not afraid of some ghost  
and there really is no place better for me to go right now, anyway."   
  
Damn he was stubborn. "You don't understand, Heero. She could kill you if she rises  
while you're still here!" Heero frowned, "Why do you feel so concerned anyway?" Duo  
blanched. "Well... you're my friend, ne? Its not exactly safe around here right now and I  
wouldn't want anything to happen to you." Heero considered that for a moment and  
nodded absently to himself. "I wouldn't want anything to happen to you either..."  
  
Duo was slightly taken aback by the abruptness of Heeros words but his expression  
quickly turned to a lopsided grin, "Kinda sounds weird when you're talkin' to a dead guy,  
don't it?" Heero's expression remained serious when he asked, "Were you happy, when  
you were alive I mean?" Duo's surprise was evident in his voice, "Where'd that come  
from?"   
  
Heero shrugged, "I've heard of stories where people stayed behind after dying because of  
some unfinished business or because they lived unhappy lives. Thats why I asked." he said  
simply. "Oh well, yeah actually. I *was* pretty happy with my life, I guess. At least until  
right before it ended..." He almost whispered the last part.   
  
Heero's grip on Duo's hand tightened and Duo blinked, startled. All this time he hadn't  
realized that Heero'd never let go of his hand. "Was it because of *him*?" The question  
was said very unemotionally and very monotone at the same time. But it was the way  
Heero had said 'him' that made Duo frown. "Are you talking about Katsuhiro?"  
  
Heero's grip tightened at the name and Duo had to suppress the urge to 'eep'. If Heero  
didn't watched himself he'd crush his hand. "Uh, heh. I'll take that as a yes." Heero  
blinked as if he hadn't realized he was doing it and loosened his grip but didn't let go.  
"Gomen." Duo grinned, "s'alright, I know ya didn't mean it." Heero nodded, looking  
away, "You still didn't answer my question."  
  
Duo's small grin slowly died on his lips and he paused as if trying to remember. "For some  
time I thought it was him. If you know this much already, Kenji must've told you the rest  
so it's no shocker to hear that I loved him." Heero's eyes closed at the last part and his  
hand let go.  
  
Duo continued, oblivious to the suspicious behavior. "I must've spent the next miserable  
hundred years pinning after him just hoping one day he'd come back. Naturally, he never  
did. After that first century came and passed I knew it would be impossible to see him  
again. Human beings only live for so long, after all. Anyway, thats when I seriously started  
to think about how I'd finally leave. I began to think it was my feelings for him that held  
me here. That maybe if I just... let him go *I* would be freed too."  
  
Heero looked back at him suddenly. Duo's voice had gotten heavy and he was shocked to  
find unshed tears in his eyes. Duo turned a painfully fake smile on Heero when his gaze  
shifted back to him. He shrugged nonchalantly, as if this didn't bother him at all. "That's  
when I realized what a complete baka I'd been. I mean, there I was waiting around a  
*hundred* years for him to show up again when he probably moved on after I died. And  
even if he did come back, what then? I was still dead."  
  
The tightness in his chest had grown the more he listened and before Heero knew what he  
was doing, he pulled Duo against him in a tight embrace. Duo stiffened in his arms and  
Heero hesitated, wondering if he'd done the right thing. But before he knew it, he felt  
arms wrap around him in return and relaxed "You still love him then." he said softly.  
  
Heero felt Duo chuckle dryly and shake his head. He took a deep breath and when he  
spoke, his voice sounded tired. "Four-hundred-plus years is a long time to get over  
someone, Heero. A very long time." Heero's eye's widened. Had he really been here that  
long? "You know, I hadn't thought of him in years. Not 'til I saw you. You just look so  
much like him..."  
  
Heero nodded, "Hai, I saw the painting." Duo blinked and sat up. "What painting?"  
"There's a painting in the Inn of you and... him. Okada showed it to us while he talked  
about you." Duo smiled slyly to himself for a moment, allowing himself to slowly fall back  
into his usual good humor before he spoke again. "No fair, Heero. You know my life story  
now but I still don't know anything about you."  
  
Heero frowned, "Does that matter?" "Of course it does!" Duo said with an enthusiastic  
smile. He fully intended to pursue the matter this time. The previous topic had felt too  
awkward and uncomfortable for him. He inwardly reflected with a slight shock that he'd  
never opened up to anyone like that before and it felt... weird.   
  
So he smiled even wider, "Heh, well, naturally if I make a friend I want to know a little  
more about him." Heero paused a moment before responding to that. If Duo thought he  
was fooling anyone by quickly seeking the comfort of a cheerful mask he was seriously  
mistaken. But then again, maybe it wasn't so much comfort than protection.  
  
He realized with some surprise that the direction his questions had been taking were  
actually bordering on... nosey. What was it his business to know how Duo felt about  
anyone? Why had he been so curious about something like that anyway? He blinked  
suddenly. As a matter of fact, since when had he had a conversation like this with  
*anyone*??   
  
A hand waved up and down his field of vision and he focused back on it's owner. "Hmm?"  
Duo tilted his head and gave him an inquiring look, "what were ya thinking about?" Heero  
shook his head slightly, "nothing." Duo sighed, "well, are you gonna tell me anything at  
all? C'mon, I've wanted to know *all* about you from the moment I sensed you."   
Heero's lips thinned as his mind returned to the previous subject. "Why? Why me?"   
  
Duo hesitated a moment at the question before falling backward onto the boulder, tucking  
his hands under his head. He gazed up at the black sky, his brows furrowed as he thought  
of a way to answer, "how can I say this... To be honest, I guess, it's because you feel so...  
different to me." Heero raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"   
  
Duo's eyes drifted closed briefly as he mused. "Well, you see Heero, most of the visitors  
to the Inn are tired spirits. People who are too distracted or stressed out to really care  
about anything other than their own existence. Or too old for it to matter. They're burned  
out, uninteresting or just closed off. Especially to me.   
  
"Kenji likes to say that it's only younger people that can see me, for example. It's not  
exactly like that. It's just the older that people get the more distracted or rapt up they  
become in their own perfectly logical lives. They could be looking out a window, straight  
at me and not see me. Maybe even because they don't want to."   
  
He opened his eye's then, looking directly at Heero with a genuine smile, "But you're  
different. I could feel you the moment you arrived. You have a kind of fire... a spirit like  
none I've ever felt before." He grinned at the stunned expression on Heeros face, "So, you  
see. You can't blame me for being a little curious." Heero was struck speechless and Duo,  
taking note of that, held his hand up to him.   
  
Heero blindly took it and was roughly pulled down next to him. Duo chuckled and shifted  
onto his side in order to face his living counterpart and waited, gazing dreamily at him as  
Heero, quite to his surprise, found himself telling Duo anything he asked.  
-----------  
  
Some time later the night seemed to have grown even darker and Duo was staring at  
Heero in awe after he'd spoken of the experiences life had thrown at him. Had been doing  
so nearly since Heero began his tale. Duo had not been expecting anything close to the  
things he'd heard and, for once, words failed him.  
  
Things had been quiet for a few minutes and Heero, laying on his back, was staring at  
some point past the stars in the sky, most likely lost in the memories that speaking of his  
past had resurfaced. Duo bit his lip as a wave of guilt washed over him. Heero had his  
reasons for not wanting to speak about his past and now he knew why. He felt awful  
about having pursued the subject and regretted having been so persistent about it.  
  
Without really thinking about it, Duo inched up closer to Heero and wrapped an arm  
around his chest. As much for Heero's comfort as for his own. He rested his head against  
Heero's shoulder and closed his eyes. Heero blinked and looked at the boy curled up next  
to him.   
  
Duo's rich chestnut hair seemed to almost give off a healthy glow as it lay in it's plaited  
mass behind him. The scarce moonlight, reflected in the water, played along the perfectly  
sculpted features of his face as Heero watched. Duo's touch was comforting, his skin just  
as warm and Heero suddenly felt entranced as his gaze went from Duo's fine eyebrows, to  
his thick lashes down to the slight curve of his lips. He had not looked like this the first  
time they'd met. Why hadn't he noticed before?  
  
As if feeling his gaze on him, Duo opened his eyes and looked at him. He was amazed to  
find a tiny smile on Heero's lips. Heero gazed at him a moment longer before bringing a  
hand up to brush a few stray bangs from Duo's eyes. "You're beautiful." he said without  
thinking. Duos eyes widened and a blush blossomed over his face. He opened his mouth to  
say something but Heero placed a single finger over his lips to silence him.  
  
There was a sudden feeling rushing through him as he gazed into those blue-violet orbs  
that he couldn't explain. A feeling that he had never felt before and one that demanded to  
be recognized. Never being one shun his emotions, no matter how confusing or new they  
might feel to him, Heero decided to allow them to speak for themselves. "Duo, I want you  
to look this way everytime I come to visit you."   
  
Duo stared, eyes still wide. "e-every... time?" He nodded, "If it's a question of energy  
again, I *want* you to take it from me, whenever I come down to see you." He said  
seriously. "T-to see me..?" Duo repeated intelligently. Heero nodded once and raised a  
hand to his crimson stained cheek, "You've been here for a long time and I... I don't want  
you to be alone anymore."   
  
After hearing that, the shocked expression on Duo's face slowly slipped and gave way to a  
dreamy smile. He looked as if he was finally going to say something but the abrupt look of  
concern on Heero's face stopped him before he uttered a word of what was on his mind.  
"Something wrong?" he asked. Heero's hand left his face and went to his, now much  
paler, hand. "You're cold." he frowned, "why?" Duo raised himself on his elbows to look  
over behind the cliffs.   
  
The sky on the horizon was turning a pale blue and the black of night was beginning to  
fade. He sighed deeply. "It's nearly dawn. I go before the sun rises." Indeed Duo lost his  
solidity at that moment and Heero's hand, which had been holding onto his, lost it's grip  
and went through. Duo took in Heero's disappointed expression with a somewhat  
reassuring smile, "The night went by fast, ne Heero?" Heero nodded slightly, looking at  
the hastily brightening horizon with complete hatred.  
  
He heard Duo chuckle suddenly and felt as if a cool breeze had passed over his cheek.  
Heero quickly discovered this was his companion's ghostly hand and found a gentle smile  
on Duo's face as he gazed down at him. "Before I go, I want to give you something." He  
then sat up and slipped off the boulder. Heero looked at him curiously and followed him  
onto the sand. Duo kept walking back and forth, looking on the ground and occasionally  
shuffling his feet against the sand, which had no effect, as if looking for something.  
  
"What are you looking for?" Heero asked, but Duo wasn't listening. He was muttering  
something to himself, "I'm *sure* it fell off that night... where could it... Aha!" He  
stopped a few feet away from another boulder and kneeled on the ground in front of a pile  
of sand. Heero walked up to him with an inquiring look, "Duo, what are you..." "It's right  
here, I'm sure of it!" he said interrupting, pointing at the ground. "Heero, could you dig  
through the sand a bit and see if you find it?"   
  
Heero raised an eyebrow. "Trust me." he said with a slight grin. Heero nodded his  
agreement and kneeled on the ground, "okay, but what am I looking for?" he asked as he  
began sifting through he sand. Duo's grin broadened, "you'll see." After throwing aside a  
few seashells it wasn't long before Heero felt something long and thin and pulled it out of  
the sand.  
  
A long golden chain lay in his hand, surprisingly still in very good shape after centuries of  
having been buried. Heero sat back, brushing the sand off of it and found that the part of it  
dangling off his hand was carrying a golden crucifix. Duo smiled brightly, "it was mine a  
long time ago and now I want it to be yours, Hee-chan." Heero looked up, surprised by  
the name but at the look on Duo's face he could only answer back with a small smile.   
  
Heero raised the two ends and latched it around his neck. "Arigato." Duo felt as if he were  
in a dream as he raised a hand to finger the image of the crucifix around his neck while  
looking at the real one around Heeros. "Now that you have something of mine, we have a  
bond together." Duo said. "What do you mean?" But Duo shook his head and said,  
"another night."   
  
He was fading in and out and could feel his time slipping away. He scoot himself up closer  
to Heero, first gazing at the crucifix lying over his chest, then up into Heero's cobalt blue  
eyes and *knew* he must be dreaming. Duo slowly leaned forward and saw Heero's eyes  
drift closed in response before closing his own. His ghostly lips barely brushed the other  
boys as the intrusion of the sun drew even nearer, clearing away the last of the stars. He  
opened his eyes to gaze a final time into the face of his new love and along with the night,  
vanished.  
  
--------------  
End of Part 4  
  
(1) Yeeeah... I made that up. Hey! Don't look at me like that! How else was I gonna get  
rid of him?? ^.^; 


	6. The Next Death

Disclaimer: Gundam Wing and all it's drop dead gorgeous bishounen don't belong to me. -.- Sigh.  
Warnings: Shounen ai, AU, 1+2, a tiny little blood, angst, violence, & Death? ^.^;  
  
  
Night of the New Moon  
Part 5 'The Next Death'   
by: Lotus-chan  
  
It wasn't until Heero climbed out of the cove that he realized how exhausted he was. The  
morning dew seeped through his jeans as he knelt at the top of the slope, waiting for the  
world to stop spinning before attempting to stand. He had been down there all night. A  
soft breeze passed him and Heero shivered, bringing his arms about his chest.   
  
Vaguely, he thought he heard someone call his name and looked up. A white-clad figure  
was running toward him from the Inn. Wufei. Heero blinked a few times and managed to  
stand up a bit awkwardly. The only thing he could think of at the moment was that it was  
a relief to see that Wufei was alright.   
  
Wufei was yelling something as he ran to him and roughly took hold of his arms. Heero  
frowned tiredly, not quite understanding. Was something wrong? Suddenly Wufei stopped  
and began speaking more softly and Heero thought he heard... concern? That's when  
Heero's knees failed him and he collapsed into Wufei's alarmed embrace.   
  
----------  
  
Heero drifted back into consciousness slowly. The first thing that came to him was sound.  
The low hum of an air conditioner was the only sound distinguishable. So he was inside.  
The feel of sheets against his skin and a pillow under his head told him he was in a bed...  
but where? Slowly he opened his eyes. His room was slightly dark, but it was the room  
he'd rented in the Cliffside Inn.   
  
"You slept like the dead." Heero turned his gaze to the other side of the room and found  
Wufei sitting in a chair. He put down the book he had been reading to give Heero his full  
attention. "What time is it?" Heero asked. Wufei looked at his watch, "five." Heero cursed  
under his breath. He'd slept the day away. "You slept as if you hadn't had a decent nights  
sleep in weeks, Heero." he eyed him suspiciously, "and I've never known you to be so  
careless as to collapse from exhaustion. "That I know of, you haven't been doing anything  
so strenuous that it would bring you to that level of fatigue... just what were you doing  
down there all night?" Heero sat up ignoring Wufei's question and realized he was only in  
his tank and boxers.   
  
"Where are my clothes?" Wufei sighed, "Okada took your muddy jeans downstairs to be  
washed and your jacket is in the closet." Heero nodded and was about to get out of bed  
when the door opened. A women with shoulder-length blonde hair and sea-green eyes  
entered. She was carrying a tray of food and stopped when she saw him, "Oh, I was  
hoping you were up by now. Are you feeling well dear?" She set the tray down on the  
night stand and placed a hand over his forehead in a very motherly fashion. Heero had to  
fight the urge to pull away.   
  
"Well, you seem better rested. I'll go let Kenji know you're up. He'll want to come see  
you. He was very worried." Sofie gave him a reassuring smile and walked out. When  
Heero looked back, Wufei was grinning. Sofie, the Inn's cook, was known to be a very  
affectionate person. With twelve kids of her own, in varying ages, she seemed to play the  
mother with whom ever she pleased and luckily, besides all this, she was also a nurse.  
  
"The moment Sofie heard what happened this morning she came right up. She insisted on  
taking care of you all day until just a few hours ago when I convinced her to go and leave  
me here." Wufei's gaze shifted to the tray, "I guess we know now what she was doing all  
this time." Heero also turned his attention to the tray on the night stand. The smell of hot  
soup reminded him of how hungry he was and his stomach growled in response.  
  
Wufei watched as he picked up his utensils, "You didn't answer my question," Heero gave  
him a side long glance, spoon half way to his mouth. "I thought Sofie stayed the nights  
here." Swiftly changing the subject. Wufei gave him an exasperated look but shook his  
head and answered the unasked question, "Only when the Inn has more than two guests  
and definitely not on New Moon nights. She's also a believer in Okada's stories."  
  
As if on cue, Kenji Okada walked into the room. His expression brightened dramatically  
when he saw Heero up. "Thank the heavens, boy." Heero raised an eyebrow but said  
nothing- the spoon still in his mouth. "I was so afraid you'd been drained completely when  
Wufei-san brought you in. You gave me quite a scare. But it was all my fault. I should  
have warned you never to stay the entire night in the cove."   
  
Wufei rolled his eyes, "Okada is convinced that the ghosts were responsible for draining  
you of energy or something like that." The Inn Keeper turned back to Wufei and although  
Heero couldn't see his face, his tone was firm and unwavering. "I am serious. You treat  
my warnings like the ramblings of an old man but they are as true as you and I." Before  
Wufei could open his mouth Heero intervened, "Okada-san, let him believe what he  
wants."   
  
Wufei turned a curious frown upon Heero. He had the distinct feeling just then of having  
been treated like an ignorant child. Okada grumbled something under his breath then  
turned back to Heero. "I warned Master O not to send him here... That he's no safer here.  
But he doesn't believe me either..."  
  
Heero nearly choked on his spoon. "You alright there?" Heero nodded wordlessly. "Well  
then, I need to have a few words with Sofie. I'll be back to check on you later." And  
before Heero could say another word, he left. He turned to Wufei who read him instantly  
and sighed. Standing up, Wufei walked across the room and sat on his bed. It was only  
then that Heero noticed the sword strapped to a belt around his waist.  
  
"I forgot that when you told me Doctor J hadn't sent you here, that meant you didn't  
know about Okada either." Wufei explained before Heero could ask. "Master O and  
Okada-san are childhood friends. They've kept in touch ever since Master O left Earth to  
the colonies many years ago. Okada knows all about Operation Meteor, the Gundams and  
consequentially: us."   
  
"You told him about me as well then." Heero said. Wufei nodded, "Just this morning. He  
hadn't known either beforehand." He considered this, "and the cook?" "She doesn't know  
the details but Okada seems to trust her anyway." Heero thinned his lips, "Anything else  
you forgot to mention?" Wufei frowned, "no, but speaking of the scientists, Master O told  
me that Doctor J has been looking everywhere for you."   
  
Heero was incredulous, "What are you talking about?" Wufei was silent a moment, then  
stood and walked over to the sliding glass doors. He pulled open the curtains and the  
room was flooded in brighter daylight. It was evening but there was still plenty of light left  
in the day. He leaned against the wall casually, looking out beyond the balcony.   
  
"Last night when my alarm went off I thought it was because something or someone had  
tampered with my Gundam. With the threat of bounty hunters still fresh in my mind, I  
forgot that I had also set the alarm to go off if any message from the colonies ever came.  
A message from Master O was waiting for me when I reached Altron."  
  
He looked back at Heero then and his face was solemn, "The bounty has gone up 3 million  
credits." Heero closed his eyes and rested his forehead in his hand. Wufei's eyes drifted to  
his sword, "that's not the worst of it. It seems Relena Peacecrafts people have found out  
about this and begun to meddle. They too are looking for us. To... 'protect' us."  
"Shimatta..." Heero cursed under his breath.  
  
"Master O also asked about you, Heero. It seems that Doctor J has been trying to find you  
since the destruction of Libra. You destroyed your laptop?" Heero looked at him sternly.  
"I told you that I cut myself off from everyone long ago. I meant *everyone*." Wufei then  
said more quietly. "Do you want to be found?"   
  
Heero frowned and shook his head, "no." Wufei nodded once, and walked to the dresser.  
Opening the bottom drawer he reached under Heero's clothes and, to Heero's surprise,  
pulled his gun out. He tossed it toward Heero who caught it. "Then I have not seen you  
since the end of the war."  
  
-------------  
  
Heero didn't need Wufei to insist he start carrying his weapon again. He had been  
reluctant to leave it under a pile of clothes in the first place. Now it rested more familiarly  
against the small of his back, half tucked into his jeans. Even though it bore into his back  
sometimes, he felt more comfortable with it within reach. Besides, that problem would be  
solved the moment he found an inner-pants holster.   
  
After their talk Wufei had disappeared again, either to his room or the library Heero  
suspected, and he had brought his empty tray downstairs to the kitchen. Heero half  
expected to find Sofie inside but the kitchen was empty. After leaving the kitchen he was  
walking through the halls toward the lounge when he passed a door that was cracked  
slightly open and heard hushed voices from inside.   
  
"Did you replace the lock?"   
"Yes, and I added another... although I'm not sure what good it will do. Considering what  
she did to the last one."  
  
Heero halted outside the door, curiosity getting the better of him. The voices from inside  
were unmistakably that of the Inn keeper and the cook and that was the very thing that  
held him there. It seemed so out of the ordinary for the two to be speaking privately, and  
in hushed tones that he was curious to know why.  
  
"That doesn't matter. Any effort is worth it." the Inn keepers voice responded.  
"I suppose so. Still, I'll be spending the next few nights at my brothers place in town if  
you don't mind."  
"Hai, it's a good thing you get as far from here as you can."  
"Why don't you come with me?? You know there's always room in our place for you...  
onegai?"  
"No, I can't leave those boys here. Besides, Selena will not kill me. She knows that  
without an Inn keeper to bring her victims, she cannot continue."  
"Don't talk that way. This isn't your fault."  
A pause.  
"Maybe I should listen to the authorities and shut this place down..."  
"Perhaps, but that is still no solution for the time being. You can't very well close the Inn  
while you still have guests. Specially under their circumstances."  
"No... I can't. I suppose the only thing I can do is hope she does not rise until they leave...  
but by Kami I hope she never sets eye's on Yuy-san..."  
  
  
Heero's ears perked up and he inched a little closer to the door.   
  
"Oh, yes. I forgot about that... Heavens, what if she already has?! You told me yourself he  
has been spending a lot of time in the cove. What's stopping Selena from looking around  
the bend. Her grave is right there after all!"  
"Calm down, you'll be heard!"  
  
Heero heard footsteps approaching the door. Quickly he walked back a few steps and  
slipped into the kitchen. Okada opened the door a little ways more, looked around then  
went back inside and closed the door behind him.   
  
Heero leaned against the kitchen door, scowling in his thoughts. What did they mean by all  
that? They had been talking about Selena, but what did he have to do with any of that? He  
replayed the conversation over and over in his mind but there were still things that didn't  
make sense. He glanced out the kitchen window and noticed the sky was beginning to turn  
a soft, sunset orange. Night was coming and he suddenly knew the perfect person to ask...  
  
-----------  
  
A few minutes later Heero searched the lounge for the keys to the patio doors but they  
weren't on the bar counter where they usually sat. He tried the doors anyway but to his  
frustration they were already locked. Turning around again, he nearly bumped into the Inn  
keeper who stood right behind him.  
  
"Where were you going Yuy-san?" He asked in a kindly tone. As if the previous  
conversation had never happened. "I can't find the keys to the doors. I ne-, I want to go  
outside for a moment." Okada hesitated, then took on an apologetic demeanor, "Please  
forgive me Yuy-san but it is important you do not go out tonight."   
  
Heero frowned. Okada had deliberately hidden the keys. The Inn keeper placed a hand on  
his shoulder, "Please, Heero. I know you believe the other one exists so for your own well  
being, I beg you not to go down to the cove tonight. Onegai." Heero was surprised by the  
Inn keeper's pleading tone. "Are you that sure the ghost will rise tonight..?" Okada  
winced. "I never know when she will rise. It has always been random but... that doesn't  
make it any less dangerous. This is one opponent you could never defeat with a gun  
Yuy-san."  
  
Heero sighed... and nodded. The relief on the Inn keepers face was palpable. "Domo  
arigato." And almost as if afraid Heero would try to burst through the doors anyway,  
Okada led him away from the lounge and into the hallway. Heero glanced back to the  
lounge almost longingly. The sun would not set for a time still, but either way it did not  
matter any more...  
  
-------------  
  
Hours later Heero found himself in the library, looking through the walls of books  
available. He knew he shouldn't have been surprised when he began looking through the  
shelves only to find that *every* book had something to do with either ghosts or the  
supernatural but it still seemed a tad overwhelming. He had never known so many books  
could be written on the subject.  
  
Heero had arrived quite a while ago. The Inn keeper had been determined to see him to his  
room but Heero had slept more than enough and was not looking forward to going back  
to bed just yet. With some reluctance Okada had left him to his own devices and went off  
to bed himself. When Heero asked, he just mentioned he was eager to put this and the next  
night behind him as quickly as possible.  
  
The wind whipped about fiercely outside and thunder roared in the night sky above the  
Inn. Heero glanced out the window briefly but couldn't see anything but the dark. He  
hadn't heard a sound since Okada left him except that of a car pulling out from the empty  
parking lot right before sunset. It could only mean the cook had left for town. Wufei was  
also nowhere to be seen. Heero could only imagine he was in his room.   
  
He found a book that looked mildly interesting and took it back to his bean bag. A pile of  
books that he'd discarded or already read lay at his feet and he had to be careful to step  
around them before sitting back down. A good portion of these books looked as old as the  
Inn and stepping on them would certainly not improve their aged and almost ragged  
appearance.   
  
He yawned opening the book and began shifting through the pages boredly. A glance at  
his watch told him it was much later than he'd thought but he still didn't want to go  
upstairs. Stifling another yawn he leaned back in the bean bag and stared at the pages of  
the book blindly. His mind wandered to the cove outside and his last thought as the wind  
whipped against the window more forcefully was if Duo might be cold...  
  
--------  
  
Disembodied laughter filled the bottom the cliff outside. Thunder roared threateningly in  
the sky and the laughter became less distant and much more feminine. Lightning struck in  
the distance as a body formed around that maniacal sound and a girl appeared over the  
waves that crashed on the deadly jagged rocks. Selena grinned as she picked up her dress  
and looked at the sky.  
  
She wouldn't be able to see a moon even if there were one out to be seen. Almost giddy,  
she floated to the top of the cliff and stepped onto the ground. This promised to be an  
exciting night. Her senses had long since alerted her to the presence of new ki signatures  
in the Inn that felt so tempting she thought she would die again if they left before this  
night. But the fools were still here, undoubtedly paying little attention to the ravings of an  
old man.   
  
She laughed again and began walking toward the back porch of the Inn. Her steps so light  
over the ground she nearly glided across it. Holding onto to her golden hair as the wind  
whipped around her she walked up the few steps and went through the door. The moment  
she entered and felt the difference between the cold outside and the cozy warmth of the  
lounge she shivered and sent her chill all around her. The chill followed her as she walked  
down the hallway.  
  
Selena paused abruptly, outside one of the doors in the hall. Vaguely she remembered this  
as the library and gently placed a hand over the wooden door, not quite touching. There  
was someone inside. She smiled mutely but began walking down the hall again. She had to  
do something else first.   
  
Selena passed the lobby and entered the right wing of the Inn. In this hallway she stopped  
outside a door and peered in through it. The Inn keeper was snoring loudly in his bed. The  
blankets were rumpled and he was tossing and turning. He had his cane in his hand despite  
that and was grumbling incoherently. Selena had to bite back a laugh as she watched him  
struggle with a nightmare. "Sleep well old man..." she said mockingly as she pulled herself  
back out into the hall.  
  
Curiously, Selena walked a bit further and looked passed the open door of the kitchen.  
The drawer where the knives were kept was locked again but this time there was a second  
lock and nothing sharp had been carelessly left outside. Devilish smile never wavering, she  
shrugged absently and walked away. She wouldn't be needing a knife tonight anyway.  
  
-----------  
  
Heero came awake with a start. He could've sworn the temperature had gone from  
comfortable to freezing and back again within a few seconds. After a moment he dismissed  
it as his imagination and stretched. Rubbing an ache in his neck that falling asleep in an  
awkward position had left him, Heero checked his watch again and discovered he had  
spent almost the entire night asleep in the Library.  
  
Shifting slightly to find a more comfortable position, Heero looked out the window. The  
wind was still as fierce as it had been before he'd fallen asleep but no rain seemed to have  
fallen. Most importantly though, it was still dark out. There was still time to go down to  
the cove if he wanted.   
  
His mind made up, Heero got up and walked to the front of the Library. He opened the  
door and walked out into the hallway in the direction the lounge. When he got there  
Heero stopped short in front of the still-locked doors. How was he going to get outside?  
He looked around the lounge and spotted a window set above and behind a couch. Heero  
grinned and walked to the window to check if it would open. It did.  
  
He raised the window open all the way, stepped over the couch and climbed through the  
window onto the patio. Heero immediately regretted having left his jacket behind when  
the full force of the storm winds hit his bare arms. Thunder clapped in the sky and Heero  
ran across the patio, onto the grass and away from the Inn.   
  
Upon reaching the edge he looked down and searched the cove. Duo was no where in  
sight. Heero thought he remembered him mention something about gaining all his energy  
from the moon, which would explain why he couldn't see him at the moment. Either way,  
Heero choose to slide down the edge.   
  
When he reached the bottom he looked around again but in the dark he could see the cove  
little better now than he had from the top. Still, he did not see anyone else. Heero walked  
across the length of the cove to the large boulder, rubbing his arms in a feeble attempt to  
stay warm, all the while looking around. The ocean churned almost violently in the storm  
and waves continuously crashed against the sides of the cliffs. It was the only movement  
Heero could see until the rain finally fell.   
  
A sound behind him caught his attention and he turned around to look behind the boulder.  
There, sitting in the sand was Duo. He sat hunched over, clutching his chest almost as if in  
pain. Alarmed, Heero kneeled next to him, "Duo? Are you alright?!" but Duo didn't hear  
him. He was muttering something to himself in-between sobs. Something in too low a  
voice for Heero to hear. Thunder clapped again and Duo became solid.  
  
As if finally realizing he was getting wet, Duo straightened and looked directly at Heero  
with tear-streaked amazement. Heero's eyes widened in shock when Duo sat up. His  
white shirt was torn and completely drenched in blood from a wound Duo was clutching  
over his chest. "Duo what happened to you?!" Heero struggled to remove Duo's hands so  
he could see the wound.  
  
Duo's amazement quickly turned to near outrage, "What the hell do you think you're  
doing here?!" Heero's head snapped up in surprise when he heard the forcefulness of  
Duo's words. Duo looked to Heero's now bloody hands and back to his face as if he were  
insane, "what do you think you're gonna do, Heero? Help patch me up??" Heero looked  
back to the wound. It was a long deep cut, directly over his heart. He let his hands fall  
away. "I forgot... I'm sorry."  
  
Duo shook his head, dismissing it. "That's not what matters right now. I want to know  
what the hell you're still doing here! The moon is gone! I'm not even supposed to be out  
and you...!" Duo cut himself off in mid sentence as his eye's widened in fear. Removing a  
hand from his wound and placing it on the boulder, he struggled to stand. Heero leaned in  
to stop him but a glare from Duo kept him back.   
  
Duo looked over the top of the boulder to the edge of the cliff's bend. When Heero  
looked, he saw nothing out of the ordinary but evidently Duo had seen... or not seen,  
whatever he was looking for because he slid back down to the sand dejectedly shaking his  
head. Heero stared as the rain began to wash away the bloody palm print Duo had left  
behind. Seeing him like this and being able to do nothing about it was unsettling. He  
couldn't help his reactions. Duo just seemed so... *alive*. And since when did he ever  
hear of ghosts bleeding in the first place!?  
  
"Stay with me." Heero looked back to Duo who was leaning heavily against the boulder  
and gazing at him pleadingly. Duo winced and clutched his chest tighter. "If you stay here,  
behind the boulder, maybe she won't see you and come down here. At least you're not in  
the Inn." Heero looked at him in alarm. "The ghost rose tonight?!" Duo nodded as best he  
could, "There is not much of the night left and she can only rise once every new moon.  
After tonight, you're safe."  
  
Duo stopped and gasped painfully. Heero couldn't keep himself from gathering Duo up in  
his arms. It hurt to see him this way; in so much agony. If there was nothing he could do  
then he would just provide comfort the only way he was able. When Duo calmed a bit he  
took in a deep breath and said, "As selfish as it is, I'm actually a little glad you're here." he  
tried to chuckle but winced again and gave up the effort.   
  
Heero's eyes were stinging and with his arms still around him he pulled Duo a little closer  
against his chest and lowered his head to the top of Duo's as he whispered a silent, shaky  
"baka". Duo smiled a bit at that but the smile soon faded when a thought entered his mind.  
"Gods I hope she never sets eyes on you, Heero. Never." Heero frowned curiously and  
mumbled, "that's what the Inn keeper said. What do you mean?"   
  
Duo closed his eyes and tried to focus on breathing for a moment. When he opened them  
he replied, "Do you remember I told you that I didn't know how I was ever going to leave  
this place? Well, during all that time I spent trying to figure it out I realized exactly how  
Selena was supposed to leave. She is bound to her grave because her revenge was never  
fulfilled. She tried but failed to kill Katsuhiro that night and her outrage was enough that it  
kept her here. It's the reason she keeps killing people. In a way, she's still looking for  
him."  
  
He held his breath and sat back up again. When Heero tried to make him lean against the  
boulder, at least for support, Duo waved him away and looked him directly in the face,  
"Heero, you look too much like him. Almost too much for this to be coincidence. She  
could even claim you are Katsuhiro's reincarnation, whether you are or not. Either way  
would be good enough for her." Heero stared in consternation, "Are you saying she would  
try to kill me?" Duo nodded, "If she ever sets eyes on you she would do anything within  
her power to kill you. Your death would mean her release."  
  
Heero looked back over the boulder to the top of the slope. He couldn't see the Inn from  
here but... the thought that she was in there now searching it for... his eyes flew wide so  
suddenly the rain momentarily obstructed his vision, "gods..!" Duo looked at him  
questioningly. "What is it? what's wrong?" Heero got up abruptly, his gaze never leaving  
the top of the cliff as he whispered, "Wufei..."  
  
-----------  
  
Reaching the lobby again, Selena gracefully climbed up the main staircase. As it split to  
the right and left she climbed up the left side confidently, already knowing where her  
target would be. Upon reaching the third floor she walked to the end of the hall and gazed  
wonderingly at the rooms before her. C36 was the same room she had hunted the last  
time. It was empty now, it's occupant no doubt the one she'd left downstairs but the room  
next to it was not so disappointing. C35. Grinning, she walked through the door.   
  
The room, like the rest of the Inn was dark. It looked a lot like all the other rooms she'd  
seen. The decor little changed in several years with the exception of one thing. The  
impressive sword that sat unsheathed on the nightstand next to the bed. She gapped at it  
as if she had never seen anything of the sort. It was a lot different from the swords soldiers  
of the continental army used to carry through town.   
  
She almost wished Okada had a sword lying around. It might've made things much more  
interesting in the past. Selena reluctantly left the sword alone and turned to the bed. If she  
had been amazed by the sword it was nothing next to what she felt when her gaze fell onto  
the bed. A boy in his mid teens slept soundly under the covers. His chest rose in a steady  
rhythm with every breath, completely unaware of her presence. His straight black hair lay  
spread over the pillow, unbound and she was struck by his exotic features.   
  
"My, but you're a beauty." she said silently as she looked into his sleeping face. She had to  
contain her excitement or risk waking him but within she felt like screaming in joy. She  
finally had her male pray. Selena kneeled beside the bed watching as he shifted  
uncomfortably in the now much cooler room. "It's almost a shame to kill you," she  
whispered tilting her head slightly to the side. She smiled almost giddily and decided she  
might as well begin it.  
  
Selena stood and leaned down over the bed near his ear. She blew softly into it and  
giggled when she saw him flinch in his sleep. She tucked her hair behind her with a hand  
and whispered into his ear, "I need you to get up, handsome." He frowned in his sleep and  
shifted again. She smiled innocently at him and lay a hand on his forehead. Refusing the  
energy she would normally take she searched his mind for what she wanted. It wasn't long  
before she had it.  
  
She whispered again, "Wufei is a lovely name. I need you to get up for me, Wufei." Wufei  
frowned again in his sleep and rolled over. Selena stood up straight and glared at his  
sleeping form. *No one* refused her more than once! No one! She stalked over to the  
other side of the bed and bent down near his ear, "I said get up!" She whispered between  
clenched teeth. Wufei almost seemed to struggle with himself in his sleep. She took a deep  
breath to try to calm herself, failing miserably, and forcefully whispered, "now!"   
  
All expression of struggle or discomfort fell from Wufei's face and without waking or  
opening his eyes, he sat up. Selena smiled, happy with herself. She walked to the other  
side of the bed and leaned close to him again, whispering sweetly. "I need you to get out  
of bed now, Wufei." Mutely, Wufei did as asked. Letting the sheets fall away by  
themselves, he stood up next to the bed in gray sweatpants and a white tank waiting for  
her next word.   
  
Selena's eyes flashed in almost crazed delight when he no longer resisted. She circled him  
momentarily. Inspecting, admiring and mused that it really was almost a shame to kill him.  
She stopped in front, noticing the way stands of his unbound raven black hair fell over his  
still sleeping face and sighed dreamily. Then, no longer needing to get so close, she  
whispered, "follow me." Wufei did as he was told.  
  
----------  
  
Duo grabbed onto Heero's leg. "Heero, where do you think you're going?!" Heero looked  
at him as if he were out of his mind. "There's no one up there except Okada and Wufei. I  
can't just leave them up there with her!" Duo shook his head, "You'll just get yourself  
killed! It's you she really wants..." Duo voice began to trail off at the determined look  
Heero was giving him. He let go of his leg but tried one last time, "Please don't go back  
up there." Heero shook his head, "I'm sorry Duo." He began to walk away.  
  
"Matte!" He looked back and saw Duo standing up against the boulder. One hand  
supporting him, the other clutching his bloody wound. "I'm going with you." Heero  
looked at him skeptically, "I thought you said you couldn't leave this place." Duo  
trembled in the rain and Heero found himself running back to help support him. "So  
cold..." Duo muttered to himself. Heero looked at him worriedly, "You're in no condition  
to go anywhere."  
  
Duo placed an arm around his neck stubbornly, "don't you understand that my condition  
doesn't matter? I could bleed all the blood there is in this spirit body and it wouldn't make  
a difference." He stopped as another wave of pain washed over him, "and... about me not  
being able to leave the cove: that's what I wasn't able to tell you last night. As long as you  
have something of mine we have a bond together. I can go where ever you go so long as  
I'm no more than five feet away. A couple more and I lose solidity. Any more than that  
and I fade away completely." Heero frowned at him, still reluctant to take him anywhere.  
Duo glared, "just help me to the top." After a moment Heero sighed but relented.  
  
------------  
  
Selena walked backward, preferring to watch Wufei as he walked down the hall in his  
sleep. This would definitely be marked among her favorite kills. Certainly, no ordinary  
young boy could've refused her so many times... and she had definitely never come across  
a kill as handsome as he in quite a long time. It had been getting tiresome, killing old men  
and such. She had to cover her mouth with her hands before she laughed out in her  
contentment.   
  
Soon, they were in the lounge and Selena had Wufei stop. She approached the double  
doors that led to the patio and looked in-between, only to find them locked. Normally this  
wouldn't be a problem for her but Wufei wasn't dead yet. She searched the lounge for  
another way out and to her great satisfaction, found an open window above the couch.   
  
She walked back to Wufei. "Wufei-chan, I want you to follow me, ok?" A barely  
perceptible nod confirmed his assent. She grinned and slowly walked back toward the  
couch. As Wufei followed she moved through the couch and straight through the wall.  
Wufei hesitated a moment, and began to sway slightly as if he would fall back onto the  
couch and continue his sleep. Selena noticed and reached through the window to place a  
hand on Wufei's cheek. As if being led away by the hand, he climbed over the couch and  
through the window.  
  
Selena had not noticed the rain at first but once Wufei was outside she panicked. He  
stopped directly outside the window, shivering and slumped against the side of the Inn.  
She almost ran to him when he looked about to awaken and embraced him in her ghostly  
arms as best she could without going through him. If she was just a *little* closer, perhaps  
her power over him would be strong enough.   
  
Her cold, ghostly body only encouraged his shivering but his arms stayed at his sides and  
his eyes remained closed. She sighed in relief and whispered into his ear, "don't you dare  
think of waking up, Wufei. Your life is mine now. I won't have you ruining things when  
I'm this close to finishing it." She felt a barely noticeable tug in her chest and looked at the  
horizon. She couldn't see it quite yet but dawn was approaching. Damnit, she had waited  
too long.  
  
Quickly she looked back at Wufei, "c'mon, follow me. There isn't much time left." Wufei  
stood up straight and followed her as she led him across the patio. Selena watched, much  
closer to her victim this time, as the wind bat at his sleeping form and the rain plastered his  
hair to his face. She worried that at any moment, in such a distracting atmosphere, that he  
would stop and begin to wake up again. She had to admit that this one had been more of a  
challenge than usual. He certainly had a strong will to live.   
  
Selena looked down as her body passed through a railing. She had reached the edge of the  
cliff without realizing it. Wufei had stopped on the other side, as it bared his path,  
separating him from the steep edge. She smiled in a satisfied manner, looking back at the  
horizon that was beginning to brighten with the approach of dawn. There was still plenty  
of time for what was left.   
  
She leaned over the railing to his ear, "I need you on this side, Wufei-chan." she  
whispered. Another barely perceptible nod and he climbed over the railing, settling next to  
her on the very edge. Scarcely containing her excitement she walked off the cliff's edge  
and floated in front of him. "Now Wufei..." she said placing her cool hands over his  
cheeks.   
  
"Selena!!" Her head snapped up when she heard her name and looked in the direction of  
the slope. Duo kneeled at the top, clutching his still bleeding chest with one hand while the  
other lay flat on the ground, supporting him. She was surprised by the venom in his voice  
when he had said her name. Surprised because the ghost who had feared her for years was  
now looking at her with murder in his eyes.  
  
Then she looked at the boy who stood next to him and gasped, all thought of Wufei left  
behind. She floated back to the edge, next to her victim and stared agape at the boy who  
held her at gun point. "K-katsuhiro..??" Heero squinted in the rain at her and his eye's  
flew wide as he got a better look, "Relena..?"   
  
Duo struggled to get up, "leave Wufei alone!" Selena reluctantly tore her gaze away from  
Heero to look back at him. When she took in his condition she smirked, "My but I haven't  
seen you in a while. Does that hurt?" Duo glared at her and got a few steps closer. Selena  
raised an eyebrow, "You think you can stop me from taking what I want?" she looked  
back to Heero, "you've been hiding him from me. Maybe I should just take advantage of  
the opportunity then."  
  
Heero scowled and clicked off the safety. She laughed, "do you honestly think you can  
hurt me with that?" Wufei grumbled next to her and she gave him a wary glance before  
slipping in front of him again, then said a little softer, "Go on then, shoot me." Heero  
cursed under his breath. He knew it wouldn't do much good to point a gun at a ghost but  
this is the way he worked. When he was threatened he felt safer with a gun in his hands  
than without, his enemy being of the living... or dead.   
  
Duo glanced back at the horizon. It was clearing fast. He might last past sun rise if Heero  
was around but she would not. He began walking toward her and within several steps, lost  
solidity. Duo was only a few paces from the edge now and despite his pain, he grinned.  
"Selena." She looked up from Wufei's ear, "I can't let you take him." Selena looked at  
him as if he had exhausted her patients with his ignorance, "you can't stop me. You've  
never had the guts to do it before and you can't do it now."   
  
Duo walked a few steps and began fading. He looked back to Heero who seemed to  
understand and took a few steps forward. Selena glared and clutched Wufei to her bosom  
like a prized possession. Her eyes flashed, "stay back or I'll make sure you regret it." Duo  
sighed, "I don't care anymore." and passed a hand through Wufei's back. Wufei woke  
with a gasp to the unfamiliar chill. Selena backed away with an enraged scream.   
  
Wufei looked down at the rocks below and eyes wide, tumbled over the railing. "What the  
hell's going on?!" Selena looked at him with fire in her eyes and he backed away out of  
the shear shock. Heero walked a bit closer and pulled Wufei to his feet. Selena's gaze  
went from the two of them to Duo, "you will pay for what you've done!" she shrieked and  
thunder roared louder as if backing her up. "I think not," and with that Duo ran through  
the railing off the cliff and straight into her.  
  
"No!" Heero ran to the edge when they fell, but dawn finally came and the two ghosts  
disappeared half way to the bottom. Wufei soon appeared beside him, "Yuy?" Heero  
looked down at his hands. They were no longer stained with Duo's blood. It had  
completely vanished. He sighed, "you hadn't believed there were ghosts here before.  
Maybe this is enough proof." Wufei looked back down and shivered, raising his hands to  
his arms. "Let's go back inside... I need you to explain what just happened." Heero  
nodded, but as he began heading back to the Inn he couldn't help but wonder what had  
happened to Duo...  
  
-------------  
  
As a car parked in the empty parking lot of the Cliffside Inn, narrow eyes watched from  
within as the bus it had followed stopped in front of the main entrance. A lone figure in a  
raincoat stepped off the bus and waved back at the bus driver before running to the  
entrance. He watched as the focus of his attention opened one of the massive front doors  
and walked inside. The man grinned from within the darkness of his car. Perhaps his  
search was finally over.  
  
-------------  
  
The hooded figure closed the door and entered, shaking the water droplets off it's  
raincoat. It spotted the front desk in the dark and walked toward it. Dropping it's travel  
bag onto the floor, it rang the bell for assistance. When no one came the figure rang it  
again... and again until finally it heard a door open from behind and turned around. Within  
a few moments, the Inn keeper came walking down the hall with his cane, still in his  
pajamas. "Oh, a new guest." He smiled, slightly embarrassed and turned on one of the  
lamps in the lobby as he made his way to the front desk.   
  
"Please forgive my attire, I was not expecting to receive guests this time of day... or  
month for that matter. I'm the Inn keeper here." He reached the front desk and looked at  
the door momentarily as his other hand unconsciously moved to turn his desk lamp on. He  
could've sworn he'd locked that door. "Oh, don't worry about it. The bus driver told me  
all those silly ghost stories but I don't really believe in ghosts."   
  
The Inn keeper raised an eyebrow at the response. "However, the bus driver did tell me  
something else that I thought was rather interesting. You see, I'm looking for someone  
and he told me that someone fitting the description of the boy I'm looking for came down  
here a few days ago." The figure paused, "Oh, how rude of me. I haven't even introduced  
myself!" She held out a hand and pulled her hood down with the other. She smiled at the  
Inn keeper, who thought he would have a heart attack right there. "My name is Relena  
Darlian, it's a pleasure."  
  
-------------  
End of part 5  



	7. Night and Day (1)

Disclaimer: Gundam Wing and all it's drop dead gorgeous bishounen don't belong to me. -.- Sigh.  
Warnings: Shounen ai, AU, 1+2, a tiny little blood, angst, violence, & Death? ^.^;  
Add. Warning: Severally bastardized Relena! (I had to be honest), Possible OOC, and LIME!  
Authors note: Gomen-nasai! I know I haven't posted in forever but life happens, ne? I'm really happy with this  
one though because I finally gave my fav. couple some quality time together and I got to have a lotta fun at  
Relena's expense. ^-^  
  
Night of the New Moon  
Part 6a 'Night and Day'  
by: Lotus-chan  
  
"Oh, how rude of me. I haven't even introduced myself!" She held out a hand and pulled  
her hood down with the other. She smiled at the Inn keeper, who thought he would have a  
heart attack right there. "My name is Relena Darlian, it's a pleasure." The Inn Keeper's  
eyes were still wide as saucers when his hand unconsciously reached out and took hers.  
She noticed, "Yes, *that* Relena Darlian. I know the entire world must know who I am  
and it is so sudden that I just appear here but...."  
  
The Inn Keeper wasn't listening. His gaze kept shifting from her to the painting behind  
her, although Relena's double was not in it. 'What's going on here?! First Yuy-san and  
now her!' he thought amazed and not without some alarm. Even though he'd only seen  
Selena twice, and once had been in a painting he kept in storage, her image was imprinted  
into his mind and this girl... He'd nearly thought for a split second that Selena had come  
back to life.   
  
"... so anyway, do you think you could help me?" Okada blinked and looked back to her,  
"I'm sorry miss, what was it?" Relena gave him a patronizing look. "I asked if you had  
seen a Japanese boy in the Inn. He's about my age with dark brown hair; his name's  
Heero. Is he a guest here?" Okada frowned. This girl knew Heero? He hadn't thought a  
boy in his position would've had time for friends outside his fellow pilots. But then again,  
their was something about the girl that didn't sit right with him and he had not been told  
either Wufei *or* Heero were expecting someone to turn up. 'I better play dumb until I  
find out who she really is.'  
  
"I'm sorry Darlian-san but I only got in late last night after attending to some business in  
town. I haven't seen any of my guests yet. If he is here, perhaps one of my employees  
checked him in while I was gone but I don't really know." and every word of it was a lie.  
He freaking *lived* in the Inn and didn't leave unless he had to. On top of that, he didn't  
have any 'employees'. The Inn was almost empty most of the time so he didn't need any.  
Except maybe Sofie.   
  
Relena hesitated only for a second on the 'san'. 'Doesn't he know who I am? Maybe this  
old town is so out of the way, the people here didn't even know there was a war.' But  
after the split second hesitation she smiled at him and waved her hand dismissively,  
"Please, call me Relena and um... do you think it's possible for you to check? You must  
have a list of your guests or something, ne?" Okada shook his head. He could see he'd  
made the right decision in not telling her. She was way too nosey. There was no telling  
why she was looking for Heero.  
  
"I'm sorry... Relena-san, but I have to respect the privacy of my guests. Is there anything  
else I can help you with?" She sighed dejectedly. This was quite possibly going to end up  
as her fifteenth failed attempt to find him but... she brightened suddenly as an idea came to  
her. "Could you give me a room then? I'll just wait until later in the morning and look for  
him myself!" 'gah!' Okada winced inwardly at the shrill voice but plastered on a business  
like smile and proceeded to find her a room.  
  
When they were finished and Okada had explained to her where everything was, he got a  
key from the rack behind his desk and stepped around. "Your room is B25 on the second  
floor, I'll escort you." She smiled, "why thank you." He picked up her bag for her and  
rolled his eyes when he led her to the stairs. There was just something about her... he  
shook his head. It didn't really matter.   
  
Okada led her up the main staircase, limping slightly, and onto the second floor where the  
staircase split in two to make room for the large two-story-high window above it. He led  
Relena to the right and, thankfully, didn't have to walk far before reaching the right room.  
He opened the door for her and set her travel bag inside, "If you need anything, don't  
hesitate to ask." She nodded and took the keys from him. "I won't, thank you." Okada  
stepped out of the room and she closed the door.   
  
He shook his head, making his way back down the staircase. "Too many young people  
traveling alone these days..." Thunder clapped in the ragging storm outside. "I agree."  
Okada looked up when he reached the lobby to find that there was already someone there  
waiting for him. A man wearing a trench coat, hat and carrying a duffel and suitcase. "Oh,  
may I help you sir?" he asked walking back to his desk. The man nodded, "I want a  
room." he had a very deep voice. His face was hidden by shadows despite the lamplight  
and Okada frowned slightly on reflex. The new mans presence was somehow... unnerving.   
  
"Yes of course," he took out his booklet, "Your name?" The man gave him all the  
necessary information and Okada got it all down, then gave him an explanation of where  
everything was before reaching back to get the room key. The man slung the duffel on his  
shoulder, taking the suitcase in one hand and took the keys with his other before Okada  
could offer to take him to his room. "I would prefer to find my own way, but thank you."   
He turned around and disappeared into the first floor hallway without another question,  
word or backward glance.   
  
Okada stared after him even when he was gone. There was something that just did not sit  
right with him about that man... but it wasn't any of his business. A guest was a guest and  
there were other things on his mind. He would need to inform the boys of Relena's  
presence before she surprised them. With that resolved, Okada went back to his room for  
his cane. Climbing three flights of stairs was no longer such an easy feat.  
---------  
  
Okada looked down at the main staircase from the balcony of the third floor hall and  
backed away slowly. He'd never liked heights very much and always wished the Inn could  
have been a one story. He sighed and knocked on the door of C35. It was the closest door  
from the stairs and it really only made sense for Wufei to know as well. Okada waited a  
moment and when he got no answer, knocked again. Still, no answer.  
  
Okada frowned at this. It was too early in the morning. Wufei *should* still be in his  
room. He tried the door handle and found it unlocked. It just made things even less right.  
Wufei always locked his door. He entered and found everything, seemingly, in order with  
the exception of the bed that was still rumpled and un-made. As if he had just gotten up.  
Lightning shimmered through the curtains in the dark room as the heavy rain pounded on  
the sliding glass doors. "Wufei-san?" No answer. He checked the en-suite bathroom and  
found that empty as well.   
  
With increasing alarm, Okada exited the room and walked to the one next door. Without  
knocking he tried the knob and found the door also unlocked. He opened the door to the  
dark room and to his great relief, found what he was looking for. Heero and Wufei were  
sprawled on the bed over the covers, asleep. Heero was still in yesterdays clothes but  
Wufei was in his sleep wear. He looked closer and something didn't seem right. They  
looked... wet?  
  
He entered the room and found himself immediately staring down a large blade and the  
barrel of a gun. Okada gasped. Heero squinted from the edge of the bed and lowered his  
weapon, "Oh, it's you." Wufei put his sword down as Heero got up and turned the light  
on. Okada exhaled and put a hand over his chest, "Your going to give an old man a heart  
attack if you keep doing these things." Wufei set his sword down on the night stand and  
said, "you should have knocked." Okada gave a quick nod, "Hai, hai. I forget what kind of  
kids you two are. I will remember next time."  
  
Heero sat back on the bed, "It's very early. Has something happened?" Okada nodded  
again, "I received a new guest just a few minutes ago that I thought you should know  
about." He looked directly at Heero then, "I didn't tell her anything but she was asking  
about you. Do you happen to know a Relena Darlian?" Heero's eye's flew wide, "Relena  
is here?!" Wufei cursed, "Damn that onna, she'll bring them straight to us!" Okada raised  
an eyebrow, "Your pursuers? How could that young girl attract that kind of unwanted  
attention?"   
  
Wufei shook his head. He'd already realized that Okada had no idea 'that young girl' had  
formally been Queen of the World. In a place as secluded as this, it really didn't surprise  
him but... it might be better if he knew as little as possible. "Okada-san could you leave us,  
onegai?" Okada seemed to understand, and nodded. "You kids sure don't act your age..."   
he said as he walked out the door.  
  
Wufei got up, closed and locked the door. "This is not good. Relena is a beacon. If we  
were able to find out she's looking for us then so will they. They might even be watching  
her and now that she's found us, they won't be far behind." He looked back to Heero and  
stopped. Heero was glaring at the floor and gripping the blankets at his side, tight fisted.  
Wufei walked back to the bed, sitting down next to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.  
His hands relaxed but he didn't look up.  
  
"This place is no longer safe. We have to leave." Heero exhaled, closing his eyes at the  
words. He unconsciously brought up a hand to the crucifix around his neck. Wufei  
observed his odd behavior with increasing curiosity. He opened his mouth and was  
abruptly cut off. "I can't." Wufei blinked, "What?" Heero gripped the cross tightly and  
looked to the floor with a stubborn frown, "I can't leave."   
  
Wufei looked at the hand gripping the cross and it dawned on him. Before they had fallen  
asleep, Heero had explained everything to him. From what had happened that night to  
what he'd learned about the ghosts and the conditions of their imprisonment. Heero had  
been very thorough and in the process had let a few things slip about the kind of  
relationship he had with the cove ghost. Wufei had found his suspicions too odd to believe  
at first but now...  
  
"You're kidding..." Heero heard the realization in Wufei's voice and finally turned his  
stubborn frown on him. It was only further confirmation of what he suspected. Wufei was  
incredulous, "The... ghost?!" Heero's hand fell away from the crucifix and he glared at the  
imprint of it on his hand, "spirit." Wufei actually sputtered, "Heero, he's dead!"   
  
Heero's unwavering glare went back to Wufei with even more stubbornness than before.  
Wufei took a deep breath and passed a hand through his damp hair, "Listen to reason,  
Yuy. Nothing can come of a relationship like that. If you stay, you'll be risking your life to  
be with someone who's already..." "Don't waste your breath, Wufei. You can't convince  
me to change my mind." Heero interrupted. Wufei sighed, "I'm not sure I really  
understand you sometimes. You seem like a perfectly logical, reasonable person... and  
then you do something like this."   
  
Heero actually grinned, "One of the most important things I was taught was to act on my  
emotions. This is what my emotions tell me to do now." His face fell as he continued, "I  
plan to stay right here. Either way, I have no place better to go and the last thing I want is  
for Doctor J to find me. I don't want any part of what he thinks a soldier without a war is  
good for." Wufei was silent for a while, digesting everything Heero said.   
  
Eventually he nodded, "Then I'll stay as well." Heero raised an eyebrow when he looked  
at him, "There's nothing holding you here, Wufei. It's best for you if you left before we're  
both discovered." Wufei smirked, "I know, but my sense of honor will not let me do that."  
Heero didn't know how to immediately respond to that, so after a moment he said, "You  
may die here with me if they find us." Wufei nodded, "I know... but you never do anything  
unless you feel it's important..." He paused, "...and if you've found something important  
enough for you to risk your life over in these new times, then thats good enough for me. "  
------------  
  
Heero and Wufei avoided eating breakfast and lunch in the dinning room that day. After  
Wufei had retreated to his own room they'd slept well past both meal times. Partly to rest  
after such an exhausting night and partly to avoid a certain blonde, blue-eyed, former  
Queen of the World. Eventually though, hunger beat out the desire to avoid her and Heero  
left his room.  
  
As he was walking down the main staircase to the first floor he met with a very amusing  
site. Relena was sitting on a couch in the lobby, trapping Wufei between herself and the  
arm of the sofa. She was running questions at him faster than he could count them,  
leaning, almost looming over him to get answers and to make sure he couldn't leave  
unless he plowed through her. Wufei looked torn between amazement and outrage, his  
hand inching closer and closer to the sword on his belt as she rambled on.  
  
Heero froze at the bottom of the stairs, favoring the idea of making a break for the kitchen  
to check for leftovers before he was noticed. It was then that Wufei decided to look  
toward the stairs, probably looking around to make sure there wouldn't be any witnesses,  
and saw him. Relena followed his gaze and gasped. With an ear-piercing  
"Heeeeeerrrroooo!!" she flung herself at him, trapping his arm in a desperate hug half way  
to the back of his jeans, where his gun was waiting impatiently.   
  
"I can't believe I finally found you! I've searched everywhere since the war was over but I  
couldn't understand why I could never get a hold of you." She squeezed tighter as she  
said this, "and then when I found out about that horrible bounty on your head I finally  
understood! I've been so worried!" She let him go and he was finally able to take a breath.  
She looked him up and down, then circled him as if trying to asses whether he was fully  
intact. He glared and caught her wrist when she came back around. What the hell did she  
think he was? A mannequin?  
  
She gazed into his face with teary eyes, oblivious of her invasion of his personal space.  
"I'm so happy that you look alright! Oh Heero, I've been waiting such a long time to be with  
you again." That's when she closed the small distance between them, getting on her tippee  
toes, puckered up and closed her eyes. Heero blinked, looking at her in horror. What the  
hell did she expect him to do?!   
  
Meanwhile Wufei was still on the couch, struggling to keep from laughing at the site. He  
looked from Wufei, who was currently getting up and coming his way, to Relena and  
backed away a few steps. This wasn't funny... it was frightening. Wufei came up to him,  
still chuckling and silently motioned toward the kitchen. Seems that he had come  
downstairs for the same reason. Heero nodded and gave the still puckering Relena a  
withering glance before walking away.   
  
Relena opened her eyes only to find that the object of her obsession was *not* leaning  
down to make one of her (many) wishes come true. She frantically looked around to find  
both Heero and Wufei walking down the hall. "H-hey! wait for me!" Heero shivered at the  
shrill sound of her voice as she came running toward them but didn't turn around. As the  
three of them made their way into the kitchen, one of the doors in the hall that had been  
cracked open shut silently, it's occupant having heard every word of the conversation.  
----------  
  
Hours later, Wufei found an excuse to get as far away from Relena as possible, leaving her  
for Heero to deal with. Heero had given him an accusing glance when he left. He  
would've taken bounty hunters over Relena anyday. At least he could shoot *them*  
without questions asked. By then, Okada had noticed that Heero was not enjoying the  
girls company and fearing for her safety, had suggested to show her around the Inn.  
Unfortunately, she hadn't let Heero's arm out of her steely grip when she said yes.  
  
They passed the kitchen at the end of the hallway on the east wing when he stopped in  
front of a door. "This leads to the basement. It's where I store some supplies, the old  
luggage left behind by a few of my guests who left hastily after having been slightly...  
frightened," he cleared his throat awkwardly, "and where I keep all the 'generous'  
donations from the Yuy Mansion and Maxwell Manor." He frowned when he said it.  
Heero raised an eyebrow, trying his best to ignore the fact that Relena was cutting off the  
circulation to his arm.  
  
"What do you mean 'donations'?" Okada snorted, "The Museum at Maxwell Manor is  
also run by the Town Historic Society. The donations from both the Manor and Yuy  
Mansion were mostly bribes to get me to sell the Inn to them." Relena finally spoke up,  
"Why do they want the Inn, Mr. Okada?" The Inn keeper glanced briefly at Heero and  
grinned, "You told me you already knew there were ghosts here, Relena-san. But I'm not  
sure the bus driver told you that one of the ghosts has been murdering the guests at the  
Cliffside Inn for the past four-hundred-plus years."   
  
She gasped and grabbed Heero's arm with her other hand, leaning into him like a  
frightened lover. Heero glared at Okada, who'd only made it worse. "Is that true?" she  
said with a small frightened voice. Okada sighed inwardly, "Yes, yes. They want me to sell  
because the authorities have threatened to shut me down anyway. However, the story  
behind it all is a very interesting one. Would you like to hear it? Or perhaps see some of  
what has been donated?" He said it while opening the door and reached out a hand to her.  
  
Heero noted the gesture was a deliberate attempt to get her hands off him and felt  
suddenly grateful to Okada. Relena looked at his hand, then to him and back to Heero.  
"Um, sure. Are you coming Heero?" The Inn keeper gave him a meaningful look and he  
understood. If he said 'no', she would just go after him anyway but if he went along...  
Okada might be able to distract her long enough for him to slip out unnoticed. Heero  
nodded, sure that he would have to thank the Inn Keeper later.  
  
Okada smiled at him, thankful he'd gotten the message and after turning on the light,  
proceeded to lure Relena down the stairs, already beginning the story he'd told Heero and  
Wufei on a previous day. Having heard it before Heero tuned them out and looked around  
as he climbed down. The basement was full of an assortment of boxes and old luggage,  
some of which under layers of dust, and various other objects like gardening tools and  
broken furniture.   
  
Okada paused briefly in his story to mention that a lot of the 'donations' were in the boxes  
and mostly consisted of paintings of the Lord and Lady Maxwell as well as the children  
they had after the death of their first born. Mainly because the Cliffside Inn was an  
extension of Maxwell Manor but that there were still a few paintings and other objects that  
had come from the Yuy Mansion.   
  
Intrigued, Heero looked through the boxes and to his great satisfaction, found a small  
portrait of the Maxwell family as he had learned of it. It was a painting of Lord and Lady  
Maxwell with their, at that time, only son: Duo. His parents were seated in a love seat in  
what appeared to be a living room. Duo sat at their feet, braid over his shoulder, smiling  
brightly at the painter while playing with the family dog. Heero felt a smile slip over his  
face. Duo always looked so alive in these paintings.   
  
Relena glanced over at him from a small old book she was looking at and noticed the rare  
expression. She immediately ran over to see what was making him smile like that. "Oh,  
that's certainly a nice picture..." She really didn't see anything so special about it. Heero  
glanced at her out of the corner of his eye but that was enough recognition for her, "here  
look, Heero. I found the diary of a girl who lived in the Yuy Mansion!" In her opinion, it  
was much more interesting.   
  
Heero sighed and put the portrait down. He'd had enough and knew one sure fire way to  
get out of being anywhere near her for what was left of the day. "I'm going to bed  
Relena." Her eye's widened at the thought of him leaving and as he began to make his way  
back to the stairs she latched onto his arm, "no wait! I'll go with you!" She covered her  
mouth when she realized how that sounded, "I mean..." From behind, Okada slapped his  
forehead at her stupidity. Heero frowned at her, "I would like my privacy Relena. I'm tired  
and I'm going to bed." As an afterthought and in the hopes she would let him go he  
added, "I'll see you tomorrow."  
  
Relena brightened at that and let go of his arm. As Heero was climbing up the stairs,  
Okada called after him. "Not tonight, Heero-san." Heero looked back down to the  
basement floor from the door, "It's ok, she rose last night." Okada nearly dropped his  
cane, "WHAT?!" Relena looked from one to the other, confused. "What are two talking  
about?" Okada ignored her and almost ran to the foot of the stairs, "You saw her?! Heero,  
I thought we agreed you weren't to leave the Inn!" Heero sighed heavily, "Calm down  
Okada-san. Everyone's fine and you won't have to worry about her for a long time."  
Okada blanched, "and... but... what about Wufei??" Heero smirked, "Lets just say he  
believes you now."  
-------------  
  
Heero walked out of the hall and into the lobby. Through the large front windows, he saw  
that it was still raining outside. It had been raining on and off all day since yesterday so  
this was no surprise. He turned, walking toward the main staircase and looked up at the  
large two-story-high window set above the second floor landing. The sky was cluttered  
with dark clouds but every now and then he could see pockets of orangy red light. Heero  
grinned, it was finally sunset again.  
  
He ran out of the lobby and down the opposite hall, into the lounge. Looking around he  
saw that the keys to the double doors were already in the locks and when he tried the  
door, it was open. Heero ran outside, onto and passed the porch to the slope. As he ran  
through the rain he cursed again for not having gone up for his jacket but refused to go  
back for it. There was no way in hell he was gonna go back so that Relena could find him  
not in bed and follow him down there.   
  
When he reached the slope he was already soaking wet and decided that he'd slide down  
much more slowly than he had cared to before. The slope was muddy from all the rain and  
the puddles that had collected near the edge spilled over the side in rivulets, making it  
extremely easy for him to slip if he wasn't careful. He slid down slowly, reaching the  
bottom safely and managing to get only his hands and the legs of his jeans slightly muddy.  
The wind picked up and Heero shivered, bringing his hands up to his soaked arms as he  
looked at the horizon. The sun was still setting behind the sea and it would be a while  
before it completely disappeared.   
  
Heero got onto the rocks and walked across the length of the cove to the boulder. He  
climbed up and sat down on the edge with his feet dangling over the water. He would wait  
out nightfall in the storm until he saw Duo reappear safely in the cove. The events of the  
previous night replayed themselves in his mind and he shuddered, as much from the cold  
as from the memory. Duo had told him all the rules and spontaneously disappearing at sun  
rise was not a good thing if he wasn't within his grave site. He hoped that Duo was  
alright.   
  
As he looked back out to the horizon he noticed a few fins sticking out of the water in the  
distance. A dolphin jumped out of the water and splashed back inside as the pod moved on  
and Heero found himself calming. He didn't have to worry, he *knew* his Duo would be  
alright. All it took was a few eternities of sitting and waiting for the blasted sun to go  
down to prove it. After ten more minutes of enduring the wind and rain, the sun finally set  
beyond the clouds and the cove was drenched in nightfall. Heero looked around but found  
no sign of Duo anywhere.  
  
His solemn gaze slipped to the restless waves beneath his feet as he rubbed at his arms.  
But before he could slip into the grips of depression the sound of a gasping breath brought  
his attention back to the water. Duo had just broken through the surface of the water,  
gasping for breath as if he'd been trapped below for too long. "Duo!" Duo's only response  
was to cough as he tried to keep his head above water. Heero slipped into the freezing  
water and swam out to him, surprising Duo when he grabbed onto him from behind, his  
spirit body already solid, and began dragging him to shore.  
  
As soon as they reached the rocks Heero climbed out of the water, pulling Duo out along  
with him. Heero lay him on the wet sand and kneeled next to him, "Are you ok?" Duo  
tried to chuckle but only coughed a few more times before responding, "yeah. I'm great."  
Heero caught the sarcasm but choose to ignore it. Duo was shivering and it was only then  
that he noticed he was too. He pulled Duo into his arms, not entirely sure what good it  
would do but willing to try *something*. "What happened last night?" he asked.   
  
Thunder roared and Duo molded himself into Heero's arms wishing for the same  
non-existent warmth Heero wanted to give. "N-not much really. The cliff is Selena's grave  
but," he pointed to the edge of the cliff where it bended into the cove and smirked. "Our  
grave sites overlap right t-there. I didn't have to be in mine so long as I was in hers."  
Heero nodded and then asked, "couldn't she hurt you?" His grin widened and he shook his  
head, "w-when I fell into her grave site, I realized something. What she can do to me, I  
can do to her. S-she wouldn't dare try anything, once I knew." Heero sighed inwardly and  
held him closer. He didn't think it possible to feel this level of relief.  
  
"By the way, what were you doing here in t-this weather before s-sunset?" Heero frowned  
down at him, "I was worried about you. Besides, I thought you might want to get out of  
this bad weather." Duo smiled warmly despite feeling so cold. Thunder roared in the skies  
a second time but the rain began to lighten. Heero got up, pulling Duo to his feet, "You  
said you could go where I go if I have something of yours, n-ne?" Duo looked at the  
crucifix around Heero's neck, delighted to find he was still wearing it.   
  
"Hai." Heero nodded as if that were all the confirmation he needed and began heading  
toward the slope with Duo. After convincing Heero that he didn't need his help for  
something that simple, they both carefully made their way to the top. Duo actually reached  
the top first and when he was joined by Heero, they quickly ran back to the Inn under the  
pouring rain- Duo being sure to keep close to the other boy. They ran onto the porch and  
Heero opened the lounge doors, allowing Duo to go in first before he entered and closed  
the doors behind him.  
---------  
  
Okada looked up with a start at the two boys, muddy and dripping water all over his nice  
(formally) clean wood floor. In the dark lounge he didn't recognize the first but he knew  
Heero as soon as he saw him. "Heero-san! What on earth did you think you were doing  
out in that storm! Just look at you, you're going to catch your death if you keep going out  
in the rain!" Duo laughed, "Hey, Kenji. You're starting to sound like my mother." Okada  
looked back to the other boy he hadn't recognized at first, squinted to see him better in  
the dark and paled. With a shaking hand, he reached over to the lamp beside him and  
turned it on.   
  
"Good heavens, can it be?!" Duo grinned and nodded, absently rubing his arms. "Long  
time no see, ne?" Okada got up from his chair with the help of his cane and walked over  
to him, all smiles. "But how on earth..." then he had a better look at his clothes and  
frowned again, "You both looked like you jumped in that water. You must be freezing, I'll  
go find you some towels. Wait right here." and with that, Okada went into the hall to find  
a linen closet.  
  
Heero actually grinned, "I think the cook is rubbing off on him." Duo nodded without  
really knowing what he meant. He'd never met any of the Inn's cooks and certainly  
wouldn't know the current one. "Kenji's changed a lot since I last saw him." Heero gave  
him a side long glance, "When did you last see him?" Duo shrugged, "I think some forty  
years ago, give or take." Heero blinked. "That was a long time ago..." Duo's smile  
became slightly dark and he replied nonchalantly, "I have no sense of time anymore."  
  
Before Heero could respond to that Okada came back into the lounge with their towels.  
Heero began to dry himself off immediately but Duo gave his brown leather pants a wary  
glance before wrapping the towel around himself like a blanket. "I'll have to peal these off  
and wring them out before they'll ever get dry." Heero paused while taking off his muddy  
shoes, swallowed any further thoughts, and continued as if he hadn't heard a thing. "Oh,  
of course! I can't let you just walk around in those soaked things." Okada looked at  
Heero, "How long will he stay?" Heero's brows furrowed, "What do you mean?"   
  
Duo explained before Okada could elaborate. "He means how long do you think you'll  
last before you have to take me back. I'm feeding off your energy now, remember?"  
Heero nodded and looked back to Okada curiously, "how do you know..?" Okada  
snorted, "I offered to do this once when I was younger." He looked at Duo accusingly but  
Duo only crossed his arms, "You were sick." he replied stubbornly. "bah, anyway." He  
looked back to Heero, "well?" Heero thought about it for a moment, looking out the  
window into the storm. "When it stops raining." he looked to Duo for his approval and he  
was rewarded with a smile.   
  
Okada nodded, "that won't be for a while..." He gave the soaked Duo another stern  
glance before an idea came to him, "The basement is full of old unclaimed luggage. I'm  
sure we could find something for you in there." He turned on another lamp and uncrossed  
Duo's arms to have a better look at him. Duo only blinked, surprised. "At least I hope we  
can find something your size." Then Okada gave him a silly grin and backed away, "If not,  
I'll just have to look through the ladies clothes for something." Duo's eyes widened.  
Heero had to fight down a grin. "There's no way in hell you're getting me into a dress,  
Kenji!" Okada laughed and put up his hands in surrender, "I was joking." he paused.  
"Besides, women these days barely wear dresses anymore..." Duo glared.  
  
Okada shook his head, chuckling. "Follow me, oh and Duo, take that muddy thing off  
*and* those shoes. The last thing I want is for you two to track mud through the rest of  
the building. You too Heero." and with that, Okada began walking into the hall. Duo looked down at his  
formally white shirt. It was completely sulied with mud from the climb up the slope. He  
groaned, dropping the towel to the floor and pulled his shirt off. He slipped out of his  
boots, leaving them on the door mat, picked up the towel to wrap it around himself again  
and looked at Heero... who had been staring. "Heero?" Heero realized what he'd been  
doing, blushed and quickly took off after the Inn Keeper. Duo grinned and ran to catch up  
before he got too far.  
--------  
  
As they climbed down the stairs into the basement, Duo made sure to take in every detail  
while absently rolling up his muddy shirt. Of course, it wasn't just the basement he was  
looking at. Despite the fact that Heero's tank was equally muddy, he hadn't taken it off  
and Duo felt slightly disappointed by that. He'd just draped the towel over himself after  
soaking it through, only managing to get dry enough not to drip and not much more. He  
sighed inwardly at the thought, not that a wet Heero wasn't sexy... but a shirtless wet  
Heero was even better.  
  
Duo grinned at the thought. That's when Heero felt eyes on his back and turned slightly.  
Duo gave him an innocent, questioning glance. Heero opened his mouth but was  
interrupted by Okada, "I'll just go through the luggage while you two look around a bit.  
There may be a few things in those boxes you might want to take a look at, Duo." Duo  
looked at him when they reached the basement floor. "What's in them?" he asked. Okada  
smiled, "They're from your house. Old relic's, family paintings and such." Duo's eye's  
widened and he made a break for the boxes near the wall. Okada looked at the wet tracks  
his bare feet left on the dust covered floor and mused he'd have to find Duo some shoes as  
well.  
  
Duo's eyes immediately fell on the small painting Heero had left on top of one of the  
boxes earlier that evening. Heero caught up with him in time to see a flurry of emotions  
cross over Duo's face before finally settling on nostalgia. "I remember this one," he  
paused and a small smile slipped onto his face. "I was beginning to forget what they  
looked like..." Heero looked back at the painting to see Duo's smiling parents, forever  
frozen in time within the small bronze frame.   
  
Duo set it aside, adjusting the towel over his shoulders that was beginning to slip and  
looked through the open box. In-between a pair of frames he froze. Slowly pulling out a  
large portrait from the box, he stared at it in wonder. Heero looked at the painting but  
didn't see much of a difference from some of the others in the box. It was a large portriat  
of what had to be the Maxwell family. He recognized Lord and Lady Maxwell from other  
paintings. The rest of the people in the painting, however, he did not know.   
  
They were all young, or at least younger than Duo's parents and they ranged in age from  
what looked like seven to thirty something. The older ones were sitting next to Duo's  
parents on the sofa while the younger ones sat smiling happily at their feet. Most  
resembled Duo's father but one or two, like Duo, bore uncanny resemblances to his  
mother. That's when Heero realized who they were. They were Lord and Lady's  
Maxwell's children.   
  
He looked back to Duo and was startled. Duo was gazing at the picture with a trembling  
smile, his eyes watery and slightly distant. "I had siblings..." his chest heaved and Heero  
didn't know whether he was laughing or crying or both. Duo closed his eyes to keep the  
tears from spilling out, and still he smiled. "All this time I was right there and I never  
knew..." he set the portrait down and leaned it against the box.   
  
Heero couldn't take seeing him like that any more and without thinking, raised a hand to  
his cheek. Duo's gaze went to him and he was no longer smiling. Heero swallowed and  
spoke sincerely. "I'll help make sure you see them someday." The surprise in Duo's eyes  
only made him feel more determined to do just that.   
  
Someone cleared their throat behind them and they turned to find Okada leaning against a  
large box with a bundle of clothes in his arms, deliberately looking somewhere else. "I  
found some clothes that might fit..." he said quickly. Heero brought his hand down and  
blushed furiously when he realized Okada had seen that. Duo smiled and it was sincere.  
He gave Heero a meaningful look and turned his attention to Okada. "Whatcha got?"   
  
Okada looked at them out of the corner of his eye, sighed with slight relief and walked  
over to them, dumping the pile of clothes on the nearest box, with the exception of a pair  
of blue jeans. "These were the best I could find." He unfolded them, held them up to Duo  
and frowned. Duo grinned sheepishly, noticing they seemed one size too big. Okada  
sighed, "You'll just have to wear a belt." he handed the jeans to Duo and picked up the  
rest of the clothes. In the bundle was a plain white button down, and what looked like a  
red Hawaiian T-shirt. "I hope you like these. It was a little difficult to find something that  
might fit. You may know this better than most but my guests aren't usually as young as  
yourselves."  
  
Duo took the two shirts from Okada and opened up the red Hawaiian with a broad grin on  
his face. Okada gave him a pained expression, "don't ask me where I got that." Duo  
laughed. Thunder clapped loudly above them and the clouds that almost seemed to have  
been letting up released a torrent of rain, hitting the roof with force enough for them to  
hear even in the basement. Okada looked up as if to see through the ceiling, "If this rain  
doesn't stop soon, we might be flooded by morning..." He gave Heero a somewhat  
calculating look. The boy certainly didn't look tired yet; a good sign.   
  
"Heero-san, do you think you could hold out until morning? It doesn't seem as if this rain  
will stop until then." he asked. Duo looked at Heero as if trying to asses if he'd done any  
damage yet. Heero scowled under their scrutiny, "I'm fine. I've done the entire night  
before." Okada raised an eyebrow, "hai... and slept the entire day afterwards." Duo  
whirled on him. "What?!" Heero gave him a look as if to say 'don't say a word' and Duo  
frowned, pouting silently. "... Unless, you could sort of cheat it..." Heero and Duo both  
turned back to Okada simultaneously, "what do you mean 'cheat it'?" Duo asked.  
  
Okada frowned thoughtfully, "With as much as I know about this... thing of yours, I'd say  
you could probably cheat it simply by sleeping the night away." He looked at Heero, "Duo  
is using your energy to stay with us but if you rest at the same time it shouldn't have much  
of an effect... ne?" Okada turned to Duo for confirmation of his theory and he nodded  
slowly, "makes sense..." Okada gave a satisfied smile, "I realize that doesn't allow for the  
two of you to have much time tonight but you'll have that in the morning." Duo smiled  
back, apparently happy with the idea. Heero nodded as well and glanced at the clothes in  
Duo's arms.   
  
"There's a bathroom in my room, you can change upstairs." Heero said. Duo turned his  
smile on him and nodded. Okada eyed Heero suspiciously but turned a smile on him  
nevertheless, "Hai, it's late. I'm sure you two are tired and must have things of your own  
to discuss before retiring." He turned to Duo. "I know how this... connection of yours  
works so I won't bother offering you a room, Duo. But I'd still like to do some catching  
up before you have to leave tomorrow."   
  
Duo nodded again, folding up the red shirt, "deffinetely, it's been way too long since  
we've really talked." Okada gave him a warm smile before glancing at Heero, "I'll go up  
first to make sure Darlian-san isn't wandering the halls like she was half an hour ago.  
When it's safe I'll call you both up." Heero gave him a thankful expression as the Inn  
keeper headed for the stairs. Duo looked at him questioningly and Heero sighed. "Don't  
ask..."  
  
--------- 


	8. Night and Day (2)

Author's note: Same warnings and same part. . The file was just too big for Notepad.  
  
Night of the New Moon  
Part 6b 'Night and Day'  
by: Lotus-chan  
  
  
Duo's gaze lingered at the rim of Heero's pants the entire trip up the stairs. Specifically on  
the weapon tucked into the back of his jeans. Heero was armed... Duo remembered  
everything Heero had told him; about the kind of life he'd led and about his participation  
in the war and what that meant but he'd thought that with it over... there might not be a  
need for weapons anymore. As they made their way down the third floor hall, Duo glared  
at the gun as if it alone were responsible for Heero's troubles.  
  
He waited until they were inside Heero's room and he closed the door before mentioning  
it. "Heero, why are you wearing a gun?" Heero turned at the door to give Duo a serious  
look. "I've told you before. My participation in the war brought me many enemies who  
will not care if it's over." He pulled the gun out and set it on the nightstand. Duo glared at  
it the entire time, "Would they come looking for you? here?" Heero paused, debating  
whether or not to tell him the truth.  
  
Duo frowned. "They would come, wouldn't they?" When Heero didn't give him an  
answer Duo took that as confirmation. "I don't suppose you'd listen to me if I said you  
should leave?" Heero shook his head. Duo sighed. "You are so stubborn." Heero actually  
smiled, "I meant it when I said I would never leave you alone."   
  
When the full meaning of the words registered in his mind, Duo's wide eyes shot to Heero  
in surprise, but he had already turned to go into the bathroom. He stopped and looked  
back from the door, "I was going to take a shower. Would you like to go first?" ... Like he  
hadn't even said it. Duo blinked and shook his head. "S'ok." Heero gave him an  
affirmative nod, entered the bathroom and closed the door. Duo shook his head and smiled  
to himself, had Heero even realized he'd said that?  
  
With a broad smirk on his face he walked a little closer to the bathroom, set his clothes  
down on the bed and looked around. There might be towels in the closet... but the closet  
was on the other side of the room. Too far. He shrugged, nothing he could do. Kenji  
would forgive him for getting the carpet a little wet. Duo took his damp towel off, folded  
it once to make it slightly thicker and threw it a few feet away. With one last look at the  
bathroom door, Duo walked the few paces to the towel. When he was directly over it he  
lost his solid spirit body and all the mud and water he'd been drenched in went straight  
through him and onto the towel.   
  
Duo smiled, stepped back a few feet and regained his spirit body just as easily. Now  
completely dry and clean, he slipped out of his leather pants effortlessly. Laying them on  
the bed, he went for the long white button down shirt Okada had given him and slipped it  
on over his head. It was a little bigger than he'd thought but thankfully reached to about  
mid-thigh. His skin, although now dry, was still chilled from the cold and rain and the  
warm dry shirt felt good against his skin.   
  
Just then the sound of footsteps came up the quiet hall outside. Duo faced the door when  
he heard them stop right outside. A hand came down on the knob, hesitated and knocked  
first. "Heero? Duo?" Duo smiled, "Come in Kenji, he didn't lock it." Okada opened the  
door, smiling when he spotted Duo and walked in. "I forgot to give you these  
downstairs." he said as he handed him a belt, a pair of sandals and a brush. Duo looked at  
the brush with the most gratitude. "Thanks a lot, Kenji." Okada waved it off, "You've  
always been a good friend of mine Duo, the least I could do is make you that much more  
comfortable on your night of freedom." he said kindly.  
  
Duo's thoughts lingered on that last word. It had been so long since he'd seen something  
other than the cliff walls... Okada couldn't possibly know how much it meant for him to be  
free of that prison for at least a night... or maybe he did. Okada seemed to see where  
Duo's thoughts were going and felt uncomfortable for letting that word slip. He should've  
been more careful. Spotting his leather pants on the bed, Okada cleared his throat,  
breaking the awkward silence and went for them, "I'll go have these washed..." "Oh, don't  
worry about those, they're fine." Duo interrupted, setting the items on the nightstand; the  
sandals on the floor.   
  
Okada looked first at him and then the pants with raised brows. Both of them looked dry  
and clean. "What happened to..." Duo pointed to the towel on the floor. Okada looked  
and sighed. Duo grinned sheepishly when he realized Okada knew exactly what had  
happened. "Gomen." He shook his head, "no, it's alright." He picked up the muddy towel.  
"By the way, where has Heero gone? I thought you were supposed to be near him." Duo  
glanced at the en-suite bathroom just when the shower came on. "Oh, I see." He walked  
up to the door and knocked, "Heero-san? May I enter a moment for your clothes?"   
  
Duo raised an eyebrow and got a little closer as a muffled 'hai' came from within the  
shower. Okada opened the door and went inside. Duo had to plant himself on the edge of  
the bed to keep from peeking. His merciful imagination shoving images into his mind of  
his love interest half dressed... or not dressed at all. Duo felt his cheeks burn just as the  
Inn Keeper was coming back out. He panicked and pretended to busy himself with the  
clothes on the bed, giving him his back as Okada closed the bathroom door behind him.  
  
"Well, I'll leave you two to your rest and retire to my room as soon as I can. Thankfully,  
there is still plenty of night left to..." he trailed off noting Duo's odd behavior, "Duo?"  
Duo picked up his clothes and made as if to go to the dresser when he remembered he  
would never reach it. "Um, yeah?" he said without looking at him. Okada shook his  
head and walked over to him. Duo gave an inward sigh of relief when Okada simply took  
his old shirt from his hands, which was surprisingly still muddy. "I'll have this washed with  
Yuy's things." He said as he began heading to the door. "Oh, and we definitely have much  
to talk about tomorrow Duo." Okada graced him with a final, knowing smile before  
closing the door. Duo swallowed. Had he seen ..?  
----------  
  
Heero relaxed when the door finally closed again. He hadn't dared to glance out from  
behind the shower curtains to see if Duo had been there as well. Why would he be  
anyway? And... and why the hell had he needed to know so badly? He sighed loudly and  
closed his eyes against the warm spray. He had been having so many conflicting emotions  
since he'd met him... Heero thought of him constantly and found himself counting down  
the hours to nightfall just to be in his company. He didn't understand why he felt this way  
and on some level the thought of that scared him... but on another, it didn't really matter.  
He knew what was happening.   
  
Even a fool could see he was beginning to... no, he already cared for him. Heero had never  
cared for anyone in his entire life. There had never been anyone in his life who he felt had  
been important enough... or lasted long enough. Heero shook his head and gave up trying  
to explain it. He grabbed the soap and began washing the caked mud off his skin in an  
attempt to put his mind elsewhere, if not to simply get clean, but it only took moments  
before his previous thoughts wandered back to him.   
  
Duo was like no one he had ever met, after all. He found himself caring more for him the  
more time they spent together and he had to admit to himself that it made him nervous.  
These were feelings he'd never experienced before. There were times when he didn't  
know how to act or what to say and despite the desire to let his emotions simply guide  
him he found his inability to understand how he felt, frustrating.   
  
Then he found himself remembering Duo's lovely amethyst eyes, his playful smiles and his  
hands paused where they had been scrubbing his arms, his eyes becoming distant. A heavy  
feeling welled up in his chest and he realized it didn't matter. He could understand later.  
The only thing that mattered was how he felt and he realized that wasting time trying to  
make sense of something this... confusing was useless. For once, he settled for going along  
with what he was feeling and allowing reason to come to him whenever it pleased.  
  
He finished and shut off the water, reaching for the towel on the rack right outside. Heero  
dried himself and stepped out of the shower stall, wrapping the towel around his waist and  
opened the door. He froze when his eyes fell on the bed. Duo was sitting on the edge in  
nothing but an oversized white shirt, busily combing through his long chestnut brown hair.  
He seemed completely oblivious to the fact that the shirt that normally would have been  
mid-thigh length rode up much higher than that while he was sitting...   
  
Duo looked up when Heero opened the door and struggled not to blush. Heero was still  
slightly wet... and Duo was suddenly aware of how small that towel was. After a few  
moments of awkward staring, Heero looked away first. "What did Okada want?" he asked  
as casually as possible, walking to the dresser. Duo got up and sat a bit closer when he  
thought Heero might be going a few paces too far and turned away to let him dress. "Just  
to bring a few things he forgot downstairs..." Heero nodded but when he noticed Duo had  
turned away replied, "ah."   
  
Heero got out the boxers and white tank he usually slept in and watched Duo comb his  
hair as he got dressed. Duo paused suddenly and put the brush down, "Heero?" Heero  
closed the drawer when he was done and walked over to sit next to him on the bed, "hai?"  
Duo looked at the brush in his hands without really seeing it. He absently toyed with the  
bristles a few moments before finding the words the speak with. "I've been thinking, I  
know I won't be able to convince you to go but... I'm worried about your problem ...  
and..." Heero put his hand over Duo's fidgeting one's and he fell silent. Duo was not one  
to have trouble speaking. It meant he was nervous about something and that made Heero  
uncomfortable.   
  
Duo dropped the brush on his lap to take Heero's hand in both of his. "I don't want  
anyone to hurt you, Heero. I won't allow it." Heero raised his eyebrows in surprise. That  
was what he was so tense about? "Duo, I can take care of myself. I was able to survive life  
as an assassin during the war and now will not be any different." Duo's grip on his hand  
tightened slightly but he still did not meet Heero's eyes, "All I have are words, Heero.  
Your assurances that you will be fine, that you can take care of yourself. I'm not saying I  
doubt what you've told me but I am well aware of the fact that you are only one man and  
you've said you have many enemies..."  
  
He closed his eyes and sighed quietly. "But... as much as I will say that it is better if you  
leave... the truth is I'm happy you've decided not to. You mean a lot to me and I wouldn't  
want to lose you. In any sense of the word." Heero took his hand and brought it to Duo's  
chin. He raised Duo's gaze so that their eyes would meet. Those few seconds felt like an  
eternity as Duo was mesmerized by the soft smile on Heero's face. "It's kind of you to  
worry, but you don't need to. This place is secluded enough that I may not be found and if  
I am, I can handle it." He paused, "besides, you are the reason I can't leave."   
  
Duo smiled, remembering only fifteen minutes ago when Heero had restated that he would  
never leave him alone. "You don't know how much it means to me." Heero gazed at him  
seriously and brought his hand to Duo's cheek, lightly caressing. Duo leaned into the  
touch, eyes half lidded. "I cannot claim to know. I can only imagine how lonesome you  
must have felt for so many years. I... I care too much about you to ever let you feel that  
way again." Duo's eyes darted back to Heero in surprise. The raw emotion on Duo's face  
and realization of what he'd just said brought color to Heero's cheeks and he looked away  
uncomfortably.   
  
"We should get some sleep..." He said, using it as an excuse to get up and head for the  
light switch. Duo smiled and got up with him. He didn't mind Heero's deliberate change  
of the subject. By what he knew of him, he guessed that this kind of behavior was new to  
him. It only made Duo feel even more happy to know Heero was only like this with him.   
"Are we both going to sleep in the same bed?" The lights cut off and Heero's  
unusually colored cheeks were thankful for it. "Hai, that is unless..." "Of course not!" Duo  
interrupted with a grin and grabbed Heero's arm, pulling him back.  
  
Heero stumbled behind Duo and watched him jump onto the bed with a slight smile as his  
eyes adjusted to the dark. He pulled back the covers and climbed in while Duo sat above  
them and looked at the sliding glass doors. The rain was still pouring outside and lightning  
flashed through the curtains, closely followed by the sound of soft thunder. Heero rolled  
onto his side and gazed at him curiously, "Duo?" Duo looked back at him a moment and  
shook his head, "nothing." He slipped under the covers and lay down next to Heero. After  
a moment, he closed his eyes.  
  
Several minutes went by and Heero couldn't help but gaze into Duo's face, silently  
marveling at the boy that lay next to him. The way his bangs fell to one side and the way  
the long locks of his hair spilled onto the pillow and over his shoulders. The way his long  
lashes rested against barely tanned skin, visible to him even in the dark. Even the way he  
breathed was mesmerizing. Duo was certainly a sight to behold... and sleeping, he was  
breathtaking. Heero reached over to pull back a few stray hairs that had fallen over his  
nose and Duo opened his eyes. He raised a slightly amused eyebrow and said, "I thought  
we were supposed to be sleeping."  
  
Heero smiled and it was Duo who was mesmerized. After a moment he grinned, "you  
know, you're real cute when you do that." At this distance, he could see the blush even in  
the dark and chuckled. Heero seemed to be doing a lot of that lately. Heero however,  
didn't say anything and a relative silence fell upon the dark room once again with only the  
soft drumming of the rain on the roof interrupting it. The humor on Duo's face gradually  
faded away and he shifted slightly before speaking softly, "There was something I wanted  
to ask you," he paused a moment. "Did you mean what you said downstairs?"  
  
Heero gave him a questioning look, "what do you mean?" Duo's eyes fell from Heero's  
face to his pillow as he spoke softly, "when we were in the basement. You said you would  
help me to see them someday..." The realization struck Heero then. Duo was talking about  
his siblings, the family he'd never met. The look on Duo's face when he had discovered  
the painting fluttered back into his mind and he knew he would not have been able to deny  
him anything at that moment, even if he wanted to. Heero's hand snaked under the other  
boys pillow where Duo had tucked his own hand and intertwined their fingers together,  
"of course I meant it."   
  
When Duo's gaze traveled back to him, Heero could see the conflicting emotions in his  
eyes. The unwillingness to believe, the fear that it wasn't true and the anxiousness of the  
possibility. "How?" he asked in a whisper. Heero sighed softly, "I don't know yet. But I  
don't plan to ever leave you until I find a way to set you free." Duo was amazed. Heero  
couldn't possibly realize what he was saying. There was no telling how long it might take  
to find a way to set him free. Duo alone had been trying to find a way for centuries. He  
opened his mouth to argue but Heero raised his other hand and set a single finger over  
Duo's lips. Duo fell silent more by the action then what it asked.   
  
"I already told you I would never leave you. Now, I say it again. I can't stay at the Inn  
forever so I plan to find a place in town. I'll stay and do anything I can to help you, no  
matter how long it takes. I promise you, before I die you will be free." Heero let his hand  
fall away and Duo smiled at him. It was a smile so sincere and filled with so much  
indescribable emotion that Heero's breath caught in his throat. Duos eyes glittered with  
the next bright flash of lightning through the curtains. A single tear escaped him and fell  
onto the pillow but he made no move to stop it. Instead Heero found himself again and  
raised his hand to stop the second tear. "Duo?" It was beginning to alarm him. Duo didn't  
look sad at all but he was crying. As a matter of fact, the look on his face was... peaceful.  
  
Duo closed his eyes and whispered, "thank you." He squeezed his hand under the pillow  
lightly and Heero was even more confused. "Duo are you alright?" He opened his eyes  
again and the look on his face was of utter contentment. "Ever since I met you I've felt  
differently. I've finally been able to be myself again. There were so many times I thought I  
would go insane. Can you imagine spending eternity in that cove? Without anyone around  
to talk to and only your thoughts to keep you company? With the danger of being  
completely erased from existence sitting right around the bend? Can you imagine being  
alone for so long, Heero?"   
  
Heero didn't speak but he knew the answer to that. He couldn't imagine it. To not have  
any escape from that kind of imprisonment... not even death. It was a kind of torture  
within itself. He didn't know how Duo had done it. Duo nodded almost to himself as if he  
knew what Heero was thinking but still smiled. "The only things that kept me from going  
insane were my memories of life. I would remember little things like pastimes and old  
hobbies. I'd remember the times I spent with my family and with..." he trailed off abruptly  
when he realized what he was about to say and his eyes darted away from Heero guiltily.  
"Um," he tried to chuckle hoping to lighten his blunder but failed miserably.  
"Nevermind..." It took Heero less than a second to understand what Duo had been about  
to say.  
  
His other love interest... Katsuhiro. The boy that could've been his twin and the one Duo  
had loved in his lifetime. Heero felt a pang of jealousy when he realized it was him Duo  
had thought about to keep from going mad. It was *his* memory that had consoled him in  
his loneliness... and that Duo would remember him even now. As if sensing his thoughts  
Duo pulled his hand away, slipped it out of the pillow and placed it on his shoulder. After  
accidentally bringing up his previous lover he was too embarrassed to speak. Heero also  
pulled his hand back.  
  
A long uncomfortable silence settled over them and Duo hugged his chest as if his death  
injury had returned. It certainly felt like it had. Finally he couldn't stand the silence any  
more, "I'm sorry, Heero. I... I didn't mean to say..." "yes you did." Duo looked back to  
Heero somewhat apprehensively. Heero's face was painfully neutral. "You were in love  
with him, I'm sure his memory would have helped you the way you claim..." Duo didn't  
understand why at that moment he felt the sudden urge to deny it completely. But it  
would've been a lie... and he wouldn't lie.   
  
Instead he said, "I stopped thinking about him for a long time. Other things had become  
more important after a few centuries then torturing myself with his memory. My freedom  
for example. Katsuhiro," Duo paused when he saw Heero flinch at the name, "his memory  
only helped me the first hundred years. After that it only brought back the knowledge that  
I'd never see him again and... and I'm not a masochist, Heero..." he stopped realizing he  
wasn't making things any better.  
  
Heero's gaze lay on the bed, no longer on Duo and silence choked the room once again.  
The hum of the air conditioner coming back on startled Duo but Heero was utterly still.  
His mind replayed the night they had first spoken of Katsuhiro. He remembered how he'd  
held Duo in his arms and Duo had told him that the four hundred-plus years he'd been  
trapped there had been long enough time to get over Katsuhiro, to forget him. He  
replayed it over and over in his mind, trying to convince himself it was true. But his  
thoughts eventually wandered away from that and onto something else. Something that  
bothered ... scared him even more.  
  
"Do I remind you of him?" Duos eyes darted back to him in alarm. "What??" Heero finally  
looked at him and Duo felt a piercing ache in his chest at the non expression on his face.  
He realized Heero was closing himself off and Duo began to panic. "I asked if I remind  
you of him." Duo sat up and looked down at him with frightened eyes when he realized  
just what Heero meant, "You think I'm here, next to you now because I want you to be  
him?!" Heero was as still as the dead. Duo's panic began to turn into anger, "do you really  
think I'd use you that way?? Heero, the man I once loved is gone dead and buried. He  
never came back to the cove, not even for memories sake. He forgot about me, went on  
with his life, and died a long time ago!" Duo was surprised by how easy it was to say that.  
  
"Its been years and I only thought of him again when I met you but not because I was  
looking for some kind of replacement! You and he may be identical in appearance but  
that's where your similarities end!" Heero's eyes began to widen with the forcefulness of  
Duo's words. Again he saw Duo's eye's glitter in the next flash of lightning. The thunder  
that followed was no longer so soft. "You and Katsuhiro are very different people in every  
sense of the word. I could never mistake the two of you..." Heero sat up as his voice  
trailed off. Duo was gripping the blankets tight fisted, gaze lowered so that his bangs fell  
over his eyes, hiding them in dark shadows.  
  
Heero felt awful for ever having said or even thought that Duo would be insincere with  
him, especially over ... this. "I'm... I'm sorry." Duo didn't move or say a word and Heero  
didn't blame him. "I should have never thought..." he cut himself off when Duo shook his  
head. "No, I understand why you would've thought it." But he still didn't move. Heero  
was overcome with guilt. He didn't have a right to be anywhere near him, "I'm sorry..." he  
turned to get off the bed but a hand reached out and grabbed his arm. Heero looked back  
and saw the pleading in Duo's eyes, "don't go." Heero was surprised when Duo pulled  
him into a hug, wrapping his arms around him securely as if afraid he was going to run  
away. Heero sighed deeply and returned the hug, "I care about you a lot Duo... I was just  
afraid..." Duo shook his head. "I understand."   
  
The words were meant to silence and reassure him so Heero let the silence Duo was  
asking for return. Besides, any more words would just be words. Enough had been said  
and enough understood but the remnants of guilt still sat heavily in his chest when Heero  
sat back only to see Duo's still troubled eyes gaze back at him. He couldn't stand knowing  
he'd caused Duo to be upset. Without even realizing it, Heero leaned forward, closing the  
small distance between the two of them. His lips brushed against Duo's in a feather light  
touch, asking in silent apology. There was a split second of hesitation brought about by  
surprise before Duo leaned in the rest of the way, bringing their lips together, accepting.   
  
The kiss was soft and even a bit shy at first, just the touching of lips on lips. Heero  
brought a hand up to Duo's cheek, then the other and passed them up and into his lose  
hair. Duo wrapped his arms around Heero's waist and pulled himself even closer until  
their bodies were nearly pressed against each others. They pulled back as one and looked  
into each others eyes in the dark silent room. They were both filled with the same  
emotions and the same desire that neither were able to place or give a name to. All they  
knew was that one could see their own emotions reflected in the other and the realization  
of knowing they felt the same by seeing it this way had a much greater impact should  
they've shared it in words... even if they could have found words to describe it. As one  
their lips met again, this time less shy and much more bold.   
  
Duo felt Heero's tongue over his lips, asking and he parted them to allow him entry.  
Heero thrust his tongue into Duo's mouth probing, exploring and deepening the kiss. Duo  
brought a hand down from his back to his front and snaked under Heero's tank. He ran his  
hand over Heero's well sculpted abdomen and up to his chest. There was a sharp intake of  
breath when Duo's fingers brushed against Heero's nipple. Duo smiled against the kiss but  
brought his hand back out and around Heero's neck. Heero's own exploring hands  
traveled down the sides of Duo's body, first over his waist then onto his thighs. He was  
suddenly very aware that Duo was wearing nothing under his white shirt.   
  
Heero finally broke the kiss, the need to breath momentarily exceeding his other needs. He  
soon replaced his lips over Duo's in a quick light kiss before trailing soft kisses down his  
jawline. Duo closed his eyes and held him close as Heero nibbled on his ear for a few  
lingering moments and let his lips travel down his neck. Further below, Heero's hands slid  
up Duo's thighs, slipping under the long shirt while very slowly pulling it up with them.  
When he realized this, Duo blinked a few times trying desperately to find himself again.  
"Heero... wait," he winced inwardly noting he didn't sound very convincing, but Heero  
stopped with his hands up to Duo's waist and looked at him with deep dark eyes.   
  
Duo had to look away or drown in those cobalt depths, "We... shouldn't go any further."  
he said with a breathy voice. His body, of course, disagreed but it wasn't himself he was  
thinking of at the moment. Heero looked a question at him, still trying to escape the  
cloudy haze passion had thrown him into, "why not?" Why not indeed? If it had been any  
other situation Duo would have thrown caution into the wind and tackled Heero right then  
but, "This... sort of defeats the purpose of you getting any rest, ne?" After a moment  
Heero nodded.   
  
Duo laid back down and pulled Heero with him. Heero wrapped his arms around Duo as  
Duo snuggled into his warm embrace, molding his body against the other and feeling for  
all the world at home in his arms. Heero brought his lips to Duo's forehead and whispered  
against his skin, "I will never doubt you again." Duo raised his head and claimed Heero's  
lips in a silencing gesture. The gentle kiss lasted only moments before he pulled back and  
settled against the crook of his lovers neck. Heero sighed inwardly, knowing he was  
forgiven and relaxed against Duo's warm body. Eventually they closed their eyes and sleep  
claimed them for the night.  
  
----------  
  
Several hours later there was something, some absently noted change that pulled Heero  
out of a peaceful dreamless sleep. He woke only to find he was alone in bed. Heero  
panicked and sat up, looking around the room. He breathed a sigh of relief when he found  
what he was looking for. Duo was sitting on the floor against the open door of his room.  
He was hugging knees and looking out into the hall. Heero got out of bed and walked  
over to him, "Duo?" Duo looked at him in surprise, "gomen, did I wake you?" Heero  
shook his head and sat next to him, "something wrong?" he asked. Duo smiled at him and  
shook his head. "No, nothing." He turned his gaze back out into the hall, "I just wanted to  
see sunrise." Heero looked out into the hall.   
  
The third floor balcony was only a few feet away and passed that over the large open area,  
the large two floor high window was partly visible from where they sat. During the night  
the rain clouds had dispersed and in the distance the dawning sun was clearly visible. "I  
always disappear right before it rises. I haven't seen the sun since I died." Heero looked  
back at him but Duo was staring out at the rising sun with a small content smile. It made  
Heero smile. Heero pulled Duo to him from behind and held him against his chest. Duo's  
head fell back, resting against his shoulder and Heero looked back out the window. It was  
something he would've normally taken for granted. After all, there are no sunrises in the  
colonies. But as Heero looked out the window, watching the sky change color as the sun   
rose in the horizon slowly but steadily, he mused it really was rather beautiful.  
--------   
  
Relena looked up passed the third floor balcony from the open door of her room with  
murder in her eyes. That... whoever she was, was draped all over her Heero! Relena was  
outraged and had half a mind to storm up there and give that harlot hell but it was her very  
rage that held her rooted to where she stood. She just couldn't believe what she was  
seeing. She couldn't take her eyes off him for a moment or some slut would try to take  
advantage of her poor innocent Heero. Well, as soon as it was full day she would search  
out that shameless girl and give her a piece of her mind.   
  
Relena stalked back into her room and slammed the door shut. Sitting on her bed she  
grabbed the old diary she had found in the basement from her nightstand and opened it  
back up, searching for the page she'd left off on. All the while the last few lines she had read  
continued to replay in her mind:  
  
*... and I was filled with unimaginable rage at the sight.   
To see my poor beloved taken advantage of by that   
wretched boy. I must confess that when I saw him   
embrace my fiancée in a manor meant only for   
honest lovers... I saw red. I swear this act will not   
be forgotten nor forgiven. My darling is, of course,   
not to blame but I swear here and now that I will   
make that boy regret he ever set eyes on my betrothed.  
  
~Selena*  
  
----------  
  
End part 6 


	9. The Patient Stranger

Disclaimer: Gundam Wing and all it's drop dead gorgeous bishounen don't belong to me. -.- Sigh.  
Warnings: Shounen ai, AU, 1+2, a tiny little blood, angst, violence, & Death? ^.^;  
Author's Note: I gotta thank Dorothy McCoubrey for help with my writers block. Arigatou, oneechan. ^.^ \\//  
  
Night of the New Moon  
Part 7 "The Patient Stranger"  
by: Lotus-chan  
  
Duo woke for the second time that morning to the feel of a warm body next to his. He  
smiled, eye's still closed and snuggled in closer. This was the kind of thing he'd only  
dreamt about. Not even when he was alive had he been able to feel this level of warmth  
and comfort with someone he cared for. He wanted nothing more than to stay this way  
forever. Just as he was beginning to fall back into that peaceful oblivion, Heero shifted and  
brought him out of it.   
  
He sighed inwardly thinking that Heero must be waking and looked up into his face. It  
wasn't until then that he began to notice something felt different. Heero was still fast  
asleep but his breathing wasn't that of a peaceful slumber. His skin was pale and his face  
slightly flushed. It was only then that Duo realized how much warmer Heero's body felt to  
him. With slight worry Duo raised himself on an elbow and brushed Heero's bangs aside  
with his other hand. There was a thin sheet of sweat covering the flushed and warm skin  
of Heero's face. The touch woke him.  
  
Heero opened his eyes and gazed sleepily up at him, "Duo?" Duo made a slightly  
disappointed face and laid back down to be at eye level with him, "You have a fever."  
Heero frowned. That wasn't what he had been expecting to hear. 'Good morning'  
would've been nice. Besides, he didn't have... Duo chuckled as if reading his thoughts.  
"Yeah, you do." He leaned in and gave Heero a light kiss, "good morning." Heero gave a  
small satisfied smile.   
  
Duo however sat up abruptly and stretched, "I guess running out in the rain everyday  
finally caught up with you, ne?" Heero gave him a look but threw the covers off  
nevertheless. He *was* hot. He sat up just as Duo's arms fell around him and pulled him  
close from behind. He laid his chin on Heero's shoulder and spoke dejectedly, "this really  
changes things ya know." Heero frowned and turned around, "I'm *not* taking you back  
just yet."   
  
Duo met Heero's frown with one of his own, "Don't make me get preachy. You can't  
afford to lose any more strength when you need it for... hey, are you listening?!" Heero  
had ignored him and gotten out of bed. He turned at the bathroom door with the same  
frown still on his face. "I almost never get sick but if I am, my body can handle it just as  
well with you here or not." and with that he disappeared into the bathroom. Duo ran to  
the bathroom door just as it closed and pouted, "have I ever said how unbelievably  
stubborn you are??!"  
  
-------  
  
Duo struggled down the stairs in his oversized jeans, holding them up from the knees so  
he wouldn't accidentally slip on them and fall three flights straight down. Heero glanced  
back with a smirk on his face. When he'd seen Duo struggling to keep his pants from  
slipping down as he searched for his belt, Heero had been ready to offer him a pair of his  
own jeans but that first and then second fall had been so funny... he'd changed his mind.  
Duo glared from behind, "What's so funny?!" Heero chuckled as he stepped into the lobby  
of the first floor. Apparently, it hadn't occurred to Duo yet.   
  
He heard voices to his right and noticed that the door to the dinning room was open. A  
loud female voice responded to another and Heero winced inwardly. He was *not* in the  
mood to deal with her right now, especially not with... He turned to see Duo reach the  
first floor and drop the legs of his bagging jeans. Heero looked once more towards the  
dinning room, shook his head and took Duo's hand, heading in the other direction towards  
the kitchen.   
  
"Oy, Heero. Where are we going?" he asked as he tried to keep up without slipping. "The  
kitchen." Duo looked back towards the room the voices were coming from after seeing  
Heero glance that way. It was almost as if he wanted to avoid it... but all thoughts of the  
room left his mind when he passed a door a few feet short of the kitchen and stopped.  
Heero turned around when he felt Duo stop and glanced at him questioningly, "Duo?"  
Duo was glaring at the door beside him. There was something about it that had sent a chill  
through him as he passed by...  
  
He shook his head, "Nothing, I'm coming." He passed Heero, who gave him a curious  
look and entered the kitchen. Heero went in behind him and was surprised to find Sofie  
inside. She smiled at him over her pot of stu, "Good morning Heero-san, or should I say  
good afternoon? It's lunch time and I haven't seen you all morning, sleeping in again?"  
Heero nodded to her politely, "Ohayo, Sofie-san." Duo smiled, "Ohayo." Sofie looked at  
Duo as if seeing him for the first time and gasped. Leaving her stu, she came around the  
bar counter.   
  
"Could you be the one Okada has been talking about all morning??" she stopped in front  
him and smiled, seeming to rediate that warm motherly air about her without even trying,  
"You do look just like the painting!" Duo grinned and offered a hand. She hadn't called  
him a ghost yet, he liked her already. "Duo. Nice to meet ya." She took his hand without  
hesitating and shook it, "I'm the Inn's cook, call me Sofie. It's very nice to finally meet  
you."   
  
Sofie glanced back to Heero who had taken an apple from a bowl on the counter. He  
looked back as he bit into it. "Oh, of course! You boys must be starving. I'll fix you  
something up right away." She said, heading back to her pot. "By the way, there's a young  
lady in the dinning room who's been waiting to see you all morning. I think she must've  
been up since sunrise." Heero swallowed hard, quickly glancing at Duo before shaking his  
head. "I don't want to see her and I'm not very hungry." Sofie frowned curiously at him as  
she finished filling a bowl on a tray beside the stove. "You're not hungry? You didn't have  
supper last night, skipped breakfast this morning and you're not hungry at all?"   
  
She came back around the counter, straight up to Heero and before he could stop her, put  
a hand on his forehead. She frowned, "just as I thought." she said, finally noticing how  
pale he was. "You're sick, you've *got* to eat something." Heero glared at her and held  
up his apple. Duo chuckled, "I told you." Heero turned his glare on Duo as if to say he  
wasn't helping. Duo grinned.   
  
"That apple will not do anything for you. You need a nice hot meal, understand?" Sofie  
continued. Heero looked at her incredulously. She was making him feel like some  
disobedient child. No one had ever done that to him before. Sofie sighed, "don't argue  
with me. I know Okada didn't tell me everything about you boys but I'm sure that even a  
strong, mature young man like you should know what is good for his own health." and as  
if that finalized the matter, she turned to Duo with a smile, "would you like something to  
eat, dear?"   
  
Duo shook his hand, "I can't eat." She raised an eyebrow, "why not?" Duo shrugged, "My  
body isn't real. I probably could eat if I wanted to but I shouldn't put anything into it that  
I'm not going to be 'taking with me', if ya know what I mean." Both Sofie and Heero  
looked surprised, "oh, I hadn't realized..." She looked back towards the stove and  
remembered her stu. She walked around and turned the stove off. Picking up the tray on  
the counter, she walked towards the door, "I need to take this last one to a guest but I'll  
be right back."   
  
Duo frowned, "It wouldn't be to the room right next door would it?" She looked  
surprised, "why yes. One of our guests requested his meals in his room. How did you  
know?" Duo shook his head, "never mind." Heero looked at him suspiciously and to  
Duo's surprise, took his hand and passed Sofie at the door. "Hey, wait just a moment!"  
"I'll come back for something later." Heero said without turning around. Sofie looked at  
the kitchen counter where Heero had left his half-eaten apple and pouted, resolving that if  
he didn't come back soon, she'd go looking for him herself.   
  
---------  
  
Heero dragged Duo into the other hall looking for the library or some place they could  
talk privately but as luck would have it, Relena came storming out of the dinning room in  
that very instant. She gasped, surprised when she saw him but quickly recovered and  
threw herself into his arms. "Heero! I've been waiting to see you all morning! Where on  
earth have you been?!" Duo frowned when he saw this girl wrapping her arms around  
Heero. Who the heck did she think she was to be so familiar with him??   
  
Then he took a closer look, and his eyes widened. "Selena?!" He took a step back in his  
surprise, stepping onto the legs of his jeans, slipped on his sandals and fell. Heero pushed  
Relena off him and quickly went to help him up. Duo glanced at Heero then back to  
Relena, "she, she's not... but she looks... there's no way she could be..." "no, she isn't."  
Heero said as Duo got back on his feet. Duo looked at him, realizing he'd known about  
her all along. "Why didn't you tell me?!" Relena stomped her foot, "Hey! What are you  
two talking about?!" Heero glared at her but she shook her head, "No, never mind. It  
doesn't matter."  
  
And she glowered at Duo instead, "I've been waiting all morning just to talk to you!" Duo  
blinked, "me?" How would she have known he was here? Had Okada told even her? "Yes  
you! I saw you last night! You are the most perverted girl I've ever met, the way you  
were draped all over my Heero!" Duo's eyebrow twitched. Had she just said... 'girl'?!  
Wait a minute... "What do you mean 'your' Heero?!" he yelled back. All the while Heero  
slumped against the wall and held his forehead in his hand. He couldn't believe this was  
happening.  
  
"Yes, *my* Heero. Heero and I were to be married as soon as the war was over and I  
only now found him again. I want you to stay away from my boyfriend!" Duo's eyes were  
impossibly wide, "N-nani?!" Out of anger, Relena pointed a finger to express her point  
further, "You should be ashamed of yourself for throwing yourself at him like that! A girl  
should always respect another womans property!" "I'm a man, damnit!" he shouted as his  
vision began to swim behind the impossibility of tears in his horrified eyes. This couldn't  
be happening. It couldn't be true.   
  
Relena meanwhile seemed to have been taken aback by that statement, "You're a..." her  
eyes widened, "Then what the hell were you doing to him last night?!" Shock and anger  
fought for dominance on his face and very suddenly the temperature in the hallway  
dropped drastically. "You..." Relena stopped when she saw her breath appear against the  
cold air and gasped, "what in the world just happened?!" she yelled, frightened. "... stop ...  
screaming..." It was a soft plea with barely any volume in it's own voice. Duo turned to  
see Heero had slumped against the wall and slid to the floor, holding his head in his hands.   
  
That's why he hadn't said anything..! Duo ran to him with Relena not far behind. He went  
to help Heero up but Relena put her arms around his neck and glared at him, "Don't you  
dare touch him!" she screamed. Heero winced and Duo's eyes flashed. He took her by the  
wrist and roughly pulled her off him. Relena gasped and pulled her wrist away from him.  
His hand had been like ice. But just as she thought it, the temperature in the hall returned  
to normal and she looked back to see Duo pull Heero's arm around his neck. He slipped  
another around his waist and stood up, half-carrying Heero to his feet.   
  
Relena stood and confronted him as he began to walk away. "Where are you taking him?!"  
Duo glared murderously and raised a hand that faded in and out exclusively for her  
benefit. "Get lost." he said in a dark voice. In a frightened panic she screamed and ran  
towards the lobby. Duo brought his hand back to Heero's arm and walked a bit further  
into the hall, entering the first room he came across.  
  
--------  
  
As he closed the door behind him, Duo realized he was in the den. It was a large room  
with the occasional half-filled bookshelves and paintings lining the walls. The room was  
decorated in several different shades of green that gave it a kind of foresty look. In the  
back of the room there was an additional fireplace, which someone had lit recently and a  
large couch directly in front of it. Duo decided to head for the couch.  
  
When he got there, he carefully set Heero down and sat down next to him. Heero blinked  
and looked at Duo tiredly. "Are you alright?" Heero was surprised to find unshed tears in  
his eyes. He nodded but his expression became grave and he raised a hand to Duo's cheek  
to catch a small tear before it fell. Duo turned away from his touch to gaze into the fire  
instead. Heero's heart sank.   
  
"Heero, why didn't you tell me about her?" He said quietly. "What is she to you?" Heero's  
gaze also turned to the fire, hearing the hurt and dread in Duo's voice. "I didn't want to  
tell you because I wanted to avoid any misunderstandings and... I know who she  
resembles. I didn't want to worry you, either." Duo was incredulous, "I should have  
known someone like her was here! And... and all those things she said..." "... were all in  
her head."  
  
Duo stopped and looked a question at Heero. Heero leaned back against the couch but his  
gaze remained on Duo, "I don't know why she thinks the way she does but I've never had  
anything to do with her. We met only a few brief times during the war. The reason I came  
here in the first place was to get away from it all, including people like her, but..." and at  
this he sighed, "she has this uncanny ability to find me where ever I go."   
  
Duo sat there for a moment digesting that. He laid back against the sofa much like Heero  
was and remained awkwardly silent. Heero glanced at him, worried he would not trust it  
was the truth. "I believe you." Duo said it without moving or changing his solemn  
expression. "I believe I'd know it if you lied to me but after last night I have little doubt  
you ever would." This time he turned to look Heero in the face, "I trust you, but you  
should have told me about her." Heero's eyes returned to the fire, "gomen nasai..." Duo  
leaned his head against Heero's shoulder, "it's ok. It's just that... when I got close to her, I  
felt the same chill I felt in the other hallway and... it gave me the creeps."  
  
Heero frowned, "that's the reason I started bringing you here to begin with. I wanted to  
ask you what was making you suspicious of that room." Duo suddenly sat up and became  
very serious. "I felt death from that room. Just like I felt death from that girl." Heero's  
eyes widened slightly in surprise, "what did you say?" Duo looked him straight in the eyes,  
"what I mean is I could feel a *future* death. Coming from both someone inside that  
room and from that girl. Either their death or the death of someone around them but the  
presence of one or more deaths is there."   
  
Heero sat up suddenly, "whose? when?" Duo frowned, "I'm not psychic or anything  
Heero, I'm just dead. Being dead just happens to make me sensitive to the impending  
deaths of others, but that's all." Heero frowned again but dropped his shoes and sat Indian  
style on the couch to contemplate what Duo had told him. "That girl... what was her  
name?" "Relena." Duo winced inwardly, "Even their names are similar. It's almost as if  
you and her being here isn't coincidence." Heero looked at him, "what do you mean?"  
Duo frowned, "she's in love with you, ne?" Heero glared but Duo took that as a yes.  
"Well, it's the same way Selena was in love with... Katsuhiro."   
  
His eye's widened as if finally coming to the realization, "the whole damn thing is playing  
out all over again!" Duo glared at him as if to dare Heero to contradict him, "You are  
leaving the Inn as soon as possible, understand? You need to get as far away from Relena  
and that room as you can. You're going to take me back to the cove right now and go  
into town to find another place like you said you would and I mean now, damnit. I don't  
want you to stay here another night!" Heero flinched and brought a hand to his head.  
'Oops' Duo brought a hand up to his mouth and quietly mumbled 'gomen'.   
  
Heero shook his head. He knew the cause for Duo's sudden worry. It seemed a lot like the  
events that led up to his death were replaying all over again but there were a lot of things  
that didn't add up. For one, Duo was already dead this time and Relena may be delusional  
but she wasn't psychotic enough to try to kill anyone the way Selena had been. Not after  
preaching her devotion to pacifism through out the entire war and Selena wouldn't be able  
to rise again at the very least for another month as much as he knew. If anything, Heero  
felt more like Duo was being paranoid but Duo caught on to the direction his thoughts  
were taking and frowned.   
  
Before he could say anything there was a knock on the door and Okada leaned in. "I  
thought I might find you here." He looked at Duo reprovingly. "Did you just frighten that  
young lady? You know I really don't mind so much that you have a little fun Duo but you  
should've at least reassured her after. She's beginning to demand an exorcist." Duo smiled   
when he saw Okada and, ignoring everything he'd just said, grabbed Heero's hand and  
jumped over the back of the couch. "Kenji, help me drag Heero back to the cove! He's  
sick and..." Before he got to finish, Heero took hold of Duo with both his hands and  
pulled him backwards over the backrest of the sofa.   
  
Duo yelped as his back landed on the seat of the couch and Heero put a hand over his  
mouth to silence him. Duo struggled to get back up and Heero compensated by straddling  
his hips, using his weight to keep him down. Duo blushed and Heero smirked down at  
him, then turned around to address Okada... whose eyes had grown wide as he watched  
Duo's flailing legs, struggling over the backrest, trying to gain the leverage to throw  
Heero off. "Okada-san, could you leave us alone for a while?" Okada nodded dumbly and  
muttered, "I'll see you two later..." as he closed the door.  
  
Duo glared up at Heero when he finally took his hand away. "Heero..." "I don't want to  
take you back just yet." Duo's expression softened slightly, "You're sick and you'll have  
to do it eventually." Heero looked at him a moment and slid off him, "I don't care about  
that." He sat next to him and sighed, "You're trying not to let it on but I know that finally  
being out of the cove means a lot to you. You don't want to go back anymore than I want  
to take you back."   
  
Duo was silent a moment before his gaze shifted to the ceiling, "No, I don't wanna go  
back... but you're more important to me than a few hours freedom." He smirked, "If it  
were any other situation, I wouldn't mind being a little selfish." But as he looked back and  
saw Heero rubbing his temples in attempt to calm his headache, Duo's smirk died. He  
sighed inwardly, resolving to leave things alone for just a little while longer, and reached  
up to take Heero's arm. Heero looked a question at him and Duo smiled, "lie down." To  
show him just what he meant, he pulled him down until Heero's head lay comfortably on  
his chest and his body was stretched out over the sofa.   
  
Heero sighed softly and closed his eyes, taking comfort in the borrowed warmth of the  
other boy's chest as one of Duo's hands softly stroked the locks of his hair. It wasn't long  
before Heero was lolled to sleep by the steady rhythm of Duo's temporarily beating heart.  
Duo looked at Heero somewhat worriedly. He'd had plenty of sleep during the night and  
still dozed off so easily. Heero getting sick wasn't something he'd been expecting and  
certainly didn't mean for anything good.   
  
As much as he wanted to join Heero in peaceful oblivion his worries wouldn't let him  
sleep. Heero was much too close to the feel of death in the building. Knowing that a death  
was coming and not knowing exactly who would fall victim was torture all it's own. He  
hoped against hope it wasn't Heero. He wouldn't allow for any kind of threat against him.  
Not if it was within his power to protect him. Duo brought his other hand to his neck and  
raised the small golden cross into his line of vision. The charm flashed innocently with a  
small eerie light but it died away just as quickly. This had become their connection; their  
bond ... and it would help him if he needed it.  
  
----------  
  
As Wufei came down the main staircase he was surprised to see an unknown man  
rummaging through the front desk. Several papers and open notebooks were spread over  
the top of the desk that Okada would usually keep so tidy. The man was a tall, dark eyed  
figure with short black hair cropped close to his head. His plain dark clothes seemed to  
define someone who didn't wish to draw attention to himself and the fact that Wufei had  
not seen him in the Inn before now only confirmed the idea.   
  
A frown fell over his face as he stepped onto the lobby. What he looked like mattered very  
little. The fact that he was rummaging through the Inn's log and whatever else Okada kept  
in that desk was what really outraged him. Okada would've never given permission for  
something like this. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" The man's head snapped  
up from the notebook he was looking through at the sound of Wufei's voice. The moment  
he set eyes on Wufei, he straightened and a smile spread across his face. The effect was  
ruined by his demeanor. Despite attempting to project outward calmness, Wufei could see  
him tense. He was masking himself.   
  
"Konban wa... Wufei-san is it?" Wufei blinked wide eyes. "How did you know that?" The  
smile changed somehow and the mans eyes twinkled with some dark knowledge. It sent  
chills down Wufei's spine. "The Inn Keeper and I have talked. Just now I was looking for  
something he needed me to find. I hope you didn't get the wrong idea." Wufei glared  
threateningly, "Okada-san would have mentioned you if you were a friend of his." The  
man shrugged, "perhaps it slipped his mind."   
  
Wufei's glare darkened and his hand itched for the sword at his side. As if sensing his  
intentions, the man's eyes darted to the rather large weapon on the boy's belt and back so  
quickly Wufei *almost* missed it. Planting a reassuring smile on his face the man began  
closing the notebooks and slipping them back into the drawers, "I've also heard about  
your temper, Wufei-san. I'll slip these back and take my leave, since I do believe you have  
misunderstood my intentions."   
  
He closed the last drawer and looked back up at him. "If I find... Okada-san, I will return  
with him in the hopes of clearing up this misunderstanding. Good evening." With that he  
excused himself and headed down the hallway to the lounge. Wufei glowered at his back  
suspiciously as he left. He didn't like that man, not in the least and he found it very odd  
that Okada hadn't mentioned there was another guest. He would have to find the Inn  
keeper if he was to learn anymore about him and if his growing suspicions proved true, he  
would need to find Heero immediately.  
  
----------  
  
Duo dragged a reluctant Heero out of the den. When Heero had woken up, Duo had  
finally convinced him to take him back. An excellent help to his plea had been the fact that  
even after waking, Heero felt just as tired as he had before going to bed last night. The  
combined drain of not having eaten, his sudden illness and having to sustain Duo all at  
once was finally taking its toll. Even Heero had difficulty denying it.   
  
As the hallway opened up to the lounge, Heero walked on toward the double doors that  
would lead to the patio, seemingly distracted by his own thoughts. As Duo came into the  
lounge behind him, he shivered suddenly and looked at the bar. A tall man was sitting  
behind the counter, serving himself a glass of beer. The man raised his gaze to him and  
something flashed behind his eyes before a polite smile crept onto his face. Duo found  
himself unable to return the curtesy. He frowned suspiciously as he crossed the room and  
finally tore his gaze away at the door.   
  
Outside, Heero closed the patio doors behind them but before he could continue Duo  
reached out a hand and stopped him. Heero raised an eyebrow, "Duo?" Duo looked at him  
seriously, "You will leave today, ne? As soon as you possibly can?" Heero looked at him a  
moment, then sighed. "Hai ... I'll go into town today." Duo smiled his approval, taking  
Heero's hand and began heading toward the slope.   
  
As they walked, Duo took in his surroundings for the last time. The sun, the unfamiliar  
brightness of day, the first blue, yet cloudy, sky he'd seen in ages and his smile became  
wistful. Just then something occurred to him, and he chuckled. "Kenji's gonna be upset.  
We never got to talk." Heero looked at him, remembering the conversation they'd had in  
the basement the night before. He shrugged unconcerned, "This will not be the last time  
you leave the cove." Duo looked at him with some surprise, "Heero?"  
  
Heero frowned at him, "Did you think that after discovering we could do this, I would  
settle for simply doing it once?" Duo could only stare openly. He didn't know whether to  
be ecstatic that Heero would be willing to do this again; to give him freedom again or  
wary of it. Finally he only smiled and stared off at the approaching slope. "Arigatou," he  
paused briefly and within moments they were at the edge. Duo gazed down at the cove  
below and felt a moments hesitation. He was not in the least bit eager to return to his  
prison of so many centuries. But his thoughts returned to Heero, and what he had said  
only moments ago and he shook his head.   
  
"Heero, you haven't forgotten what I am, ne?" he looked back up to see Heero looking at  
him oddly, "You haven't forgotten that I'm dead. That no matter how alive I look, even  
now, the dead don't come back to life..." Heero frowned reprovingly, he didn't think he  
could ever forget. The knowledge of it plagued him every free moment so that there were  
times where he could think of nothing else. But he kept all this to himself and instead,  
simply answered, "no." Duo nodded and stepped onto the slope. He could already feel the  
pull of his grave, beckoning for him to return. The only thing that kept him solid where he  
stood was Heero's hand, still firmly wrapped around his.   
  
He looked back a final time and allowed a wide grin to split his face, unwilling to leave on  
such a serious note. "Well, I guess I'll see you later!" But he blinked in surprise when a  
hand rose to his cheek and Heero's still frowning face closed the distance between them.  
Duo let go of his mask entirely and eagerly kissed him back. It seemed he could not even  
disguise his emotions when Heero was around. But perhaps that wasn't such a bad thing.  
Perhaps it was only an opportunity to let go and simply be himself. At the thought, Duo  
completely relaxed into the kiss and wrapped his free arm around Heero's neck.  
  
A strong chill sent a tremor through his body and Duo gasped. The jolt shocked him and  
he instantly pushed away from Heero in a panic. That feeling... that feeling was ..! Heero  
looked at him with wide eyes from the sudden reaction. "Duo?!" By pushing off him, Duo  
had lost his balance on the edge of the slope. Most importantly, he'd lost contact with  
Heero. The rest all happened as if in slow motion. Duo fell backwards into the cove,  
raising a hand to Heero as gravity began to pull him down. Heero reached out to him but  
it was too late. Duo's body faded away right before his eyes. The wind that passed only  
serving to carry away an echo of the panic in Duo's voice as he called out Heero's name...  
  
---------  
  
Relena read through the diary like one would go through an extremely good book. She sat  
on the bed in her room, turning page after page intently as she read about the torn soul of  
the diary's owner. She learned of the womans hatred, first for a boy named Duo who she  
believed had stolen her love from her. Then read as that hatred shifted toward the object  
of her obsession, a boy named Katsuhiro, who she felt had betrayed her love after  
confessing, none too gently, that he loved another.   
  
As she continued to read, Relena was shocked by the revelations the woman made and  
how the one she loved so profoundly, rejected her at every turn. Through the pages of the  
diary, Relena saw the womans torment fuel her hatred of the one she had once loved. Her  
emotions of betrayal and rejection becoming her taunting demons, as the date of a  
marriage that would never be, came closer and closer. Relena could only sympathize and  
as she read on, she found herself reading aloud.   
  
"Night approaches and I am filled with anticipation.   
Even as I write at this very moment it is difficult for   
me to control my emotions and keep my hands still   
enough to write legibly. I do not know why I confess   
the depths of my tormented soul onto a simple sheet   
of paper other than I have no one to speak to. It   
matters little, though. I could tell no one of what I am   
plotting. It is after sunset and through my window I   
watch as Katsuhiro leaves unnoticed by all others to   
meet with his forbidden lover for a final time. The sight   
only fills me with anger. He plans to leave me, broken   
hearted, rejected and alone.   
  
I will not allow it. Katsuhiro has betrayed my love and   
humiliated me but I will not let him get away with such   
a hideous act. He will regret having rejected my undying   
devotion to him and he will pay for what he has done to   
me. They both will. Katsuhiro will repent with his life at   
my hands and Duo will watch as *his* love is taken from   
*him*. Then he will know my sorrow and regret ever   
having stood in my way. I swear that I will take revenge   
for my shattered heart, even if he somehow escapes me   
and it takes my entire life. Nothing will stand in my way.   
Not until I have my revenge. Not even death itself.  
  
~ Selena"  
  
When Relena finished the last line, her head snapped up as the window opened abruptly,  
on its own, and a chilling wind swept through the room. She yelped and hugged herself in  
fright against the eerily powerful icy breeze as it swept around her slowly a few times and  
then darted out the window again. With wide eyes, she pulled aside the hair that had swept  
into her face and stared at her window for a few moments before finally remembering how  
to move and rushed to the other side of the room to shut the window closed. Shakily, she  
fell into the chair beside her, muttering. "What in the world was that..." Absently, she  
noticed the diary still in her other hand, her finger marking the last page she had been  
reading from. Relena opened the book again and turned the page. It was blank.   
----------  
  
Heero walked into the empty lounge with an armful of clothes. They had remained on the  
slope after Duo had abruptly vanished, reminding him of the words spoken in the kitchen  
earlier that day. He couldn't take them with him. Heero also guessed that if he looked  
upstairs, the clothes Duo had come with would also be gone... The same way his blood  
had vanished from Heero's hands on the previous night.   
  
His clothes, however, were not the issues occupying Heero's mind. Duo had gasped and  
pushed him away... only to reach out for him as he fell as if there had been something he  
needed to say. Heero first thought Duo's frightened face had been for the fall he was sure  
to have after loosing his balance but now he wasn't so sure. Duo was already... already  
dead, after all. And Heero had seen such an urgency in Duo's face... Faint voices brought  
Heero out of his musings as he emerged from the hall and saw Wufei and Okada arguing  
in the lobby.   
  
"...should have known about him. I don't trust that man!" The Inn keeper looked up to see  
Heero enter the lobby from the west wing and took that opportunity to change the subject.  
Wufei had obviously been agitating him. "Good evening Heero." He paused, taking in the  
bundle of clothes in his arms, "where is Duo? He left already?" Heero nodded, "I'll bring  
him back tonight if possible. I know you wanted to talk with him." Okada regarded him  
suspiciously, remembering the events within the Den and what Duo had been able to get  
out before Heero silenced him. Heero must have noticed the direction his thoughts were  
taking and continued in order to keep the Inn keeper from bringing it up, "Before he  
returned he said he was unnerved by... a presence in the Inn. Enough to insist I leave." He  
decided not to mention the presence of death until he could discuss it alone with Wufei.  
He didn't know how the Inn keeper might take it. For all he knew, Okada might be so  
used to the idea that he would brush it off completely.   
  
Wufei raised an eyebrow, "The ghost finally talked some sense into you." Heero spared  
him a frown before returning his attention to Okada, "can you call a taxi to take me into  
town? I want to find a more permanent place to stay." Okada nodded, "of course..."  
"There you are!" Sofie stalked into the room from the east wing with her purse in hand  
and walked right up to Heero, ignoring all others in the room. "I have been looking  
everywhere for you! You haven't stopped by the kitchen all day. How do you propose to  
get better if you don't eat anything? I'm sure you haven't had steady rest either, not with  
having to sustain Duo-san as well as yourself." She said tilting up his chin to get a better  
look at his pale and slightly flushed face, "it's no wonder your ill." 'Damnit...' Heero  
thought.  
  
Wufei frowned, "You're ill, Yuy?" he crossed his arms and took a good long look at the  
former Gundam Pilot for the first time, his gaze coming away disapprovingly. Heero  
pulled away from her. "I'll be fine." He looked at Okada, hoping to turn the conversation.  
"When can you call?" Sofie turned back to Okada, intending sway Heero's obvious  
attempts to change the subject the moment she knew what he was up to. "What does he  
mean?" "Heero wants to go into town to find a permanent place to stay." Okada replied  
immediately, rather than incur Sofie's wrath. She looked back at Heero surprised, "I was  
under the impression that your... 'occupations' demanded you not stay in one place too  
long." Heero wasn't swayed by the reminder, "I've chosen to stay."   
  
Sofie turned to him with a smile. "What a coincidence. I was just going into town myself  
for my break. Why don't I take you with me? Besides, I could introduce you to my  
brother. He owns a set of apartment buildings in town. It'll save time and trouble..." she  
grinned mischievously, "... and that way we can stop someplace to eat and I can make sure  
you get your proper nourishment even if I have to force it down your throat myself."  
Heero raised an eyebrow at Sofie's grinning face but found the ghost of a smile slip from  
his control at her playful threat.   
  
"That sounds like a good idea." Okada admitted from behind her. Sofie straightened,  
hands on her hips with a triumphant smile on her face. "It's settled then" And with that she  
began walking to the door. Heero sighed to himself. There was simply no arguing with  
that woman. As he began to follow her to the front doors, Wufei approached him and  
took his arm. "Heero, there are some things we need to discuss when you return. I'll be  
waiting for you upstairs." Heero frowned slightly but nodded. The sound of Wufei's voice  
told him that whatever was on his mind was important but if he didn't feel strongly enough  
about it to keep Heero here and speak to him immediately... then Heero supposed it could  
wait.   
  
----------  
  
Hours later found Sofie driving up the solitary road back to the Inn. It was just as quiet a  
ride back as it had been into town. She had quickly learned that Heero was not much of a  
conversationalist unless he wanted to be. She understood and accepted it, however. She  
knew that everyone had reasons for being the way they were and she got the distinct  
impression that the two young guests at the Cliffside Inn had lived much more eventful  
lives by age sixteen then most of the adults who lived around here. Both Heero and Wufei  
were cool, calculating, mature individuals and she had no doubt the war had everything to  
do with that. It burned her that such young boys had been forced to become adults so  
quickly when instead, they should be enjoying their childhood, or rather, their adolescence.   
  
'Ever the mother,' Sofie thought and shook her head at the immediate direction her  
thoughts had taken. After all, none of that was the reason for the silence that over took the  
car now. She spared Heero a brief glance before returning her attention to her driving. The  
temperature had dropped drastically as of late and wearing nothing but his uniform green  
tank, he'd had to borrow her spare coat the moment they'd reached town. He was  
wrapped in it now, sleeping soundly in the front seat of her car. After visiting her brother,  
Sofie had taken him out for dinner at a nice restaurant and the moment they had gotten  
back into the car Heero had made himself comfortable and drifted off. 'He really should be  
in bed...' she thought as she spared another short glance in his direction and noticed his  
slight shivering. She was getting worried, the inside of the car was plenty warm after all...  
Sofie shook her head, calling herself all kinds of idiot for taking him out and not insisting  
he stay in bed.   
  
'Well, what's done is done. I'll just make sure he go's straight to bed and not into the  
cove tonight.' Sofie was aware of his frequent visits. She and Okada had discussed it and  
the ghosts several times in private. Okada expressing his growing curiosity and Sofie her  
concern. She frowned to herself, remembering Heero's stubbornness, 'he'll go to bed  
tonight if I have to strap him in,' she resolved with determination. With plenty of  
experience at her own children trying to sneak out at all late hours she had become an  
expert at detecting silent attempts to sneak about.   
  
Sofie was brought out of her thoughts in surprise when she saw random snow flakes  
doting her windshield. After a few minutes they increased in number until the cloudy night  
air was thick with them. 'So much snow... and so soon...' She turned on the windshield  
wipers and focused on the frosted dirt road as the Inn came into view.   
  
Sofie pulled into the parking lot, and shut the engine off. She turned to Heero and seeing  
his flushed, slumbering face only made her worry even more. She reached out a hand and  
shook him softly, "Heero-san. We've arri..." She gasped in mid-word as a gun was shoved  
into her face. Heero blinked at her, breathing shakily and seemed surprised with himself.  
"Ah, gomen..." He dropped his arm and replaced the weapon at the small of his back.  
Sofie stared agape as he did so. All this time, she hadn't had any idea that Heero was  
armed. "U-um, it's... alright. I was telling you that we're back." Heero nodded as if  
nothing unusual had happened and looked out the window. He was a bit surprised to see it  
was snowing and as if it reminded him of the cold, he pulled the borrowed coat around  
himself tighter.   
  
"Um," Sofie struggled to regain her composure, "lets go inside now, ok Heero?" Heero  
nodded and opened the passenger side door. Sofie took a deep breath to calm herself  
down a bit. After all, it's not everyday she had a gun shoved in her face. She sighed,  
thinking it was probably nothing out of the ordinary to him and exited the car. Heero was  
already half-way to the Inn, half-running against the chilling breeze. Sofie quickly caught  
up with him at the front doors, opened them with her keys and entered after Heero to  
quickly close the doors behind her.   
  
The lobby was dark and empty. It seemed that everyone had retired for the night and  
silence filled building, making their entry seem a lot louder than it was. After locking the  
door Sofie turned to see Heero waiting to give her coat back to her. "Arigatou," he said as  
he handed it to her. She took the coat and looked at him determinedly, "Heero, promise  
me you'll go straight to bed. You won't go outside, ne?" Heero sighed. In truth, he had no  
intention of going anywhere but to bed. On the drive into town Heero had finally admitted  
to himself just how tired he really felt. He seriously did not feel up to the drain that visiting  
Duo would be to him... and he didn't think Duo would appreciate it either. Sofie looked at  
him suspiciously when he did not answer, "Heero..?" Heero looked back up at her and a  
strange thought occurred to him. This must be what it's like to have a mother. He  
suddenly found the thought quite humorous and despite himself, he smiled. "I promise not  
to go into the cove tonight."   
  
A satisfied smile blossomed over her face. "I'm glad," and she grinned, "because I have  
ears like a cat and I'll hear if you try to sneak out. I'll be spending the night here so don't  
you think you can get passed me." But her expression softened suddenly, "We should've  
gotten some medicine for you while we were in town." She turned around as if debating  
whether to make the drive back but when she spotted all that snow through the windows,  
she thought twice about it and looked back at him. "I'll just go into town tomorrow  
morning to find you something, dear." Heero nodded his thanks, "oyasumi nasai." He said  
and began heading for the main staircase. Sofie gave his retreating back a very motherly  
smile, "goodnight Heero. Sleep well."  
  
-------  
  
When Heero arrived on the third floor he noticed that there was light coming from under  
the door across from his room and the door was ajar. He frowned. The last he  
remembered, Wufei and himself were the only guests staying on the third floor. Removing  
his gun from the small of his back, he crept up to the door silently and listened but not a  
sound came from within. Then without warning the door opened and Wufei peered out  
from behind it. He grinned, "I thought I heard the doors open downstairs." Heero  
breathed his relief and replaced the weapon where it had been. As Wufei stepped aside to  
allow him in, he mused that he was grateful it had only been him.   
  
He was exhausted and the beginnings of a headache were stirring at the base of his skull.  
He was looking forward to Wufei quickly saying whatever it was he needed to say and  
going straight to bed. A reckless shootout was not welcome right now. The moment he  
entered the room, however, he realized that this had to be the third floor sitting room. The  
room itself was about the size of his and Wufei's put together. It contained three couches,  
a circular table between them and a television that looked oddly out of place among the  
much older furniture. The walls were adorned with paintings of people he now recognized  
as the Maxwell family and there was a Grandfather clock against the far wall.   
  
Wufei closed the door while Heero chose a seat on one of the couches near the opposite  
wall. "I settled to tell you this only after you returned because I wanted to look into the  
matter deeper." Heero raised an eyebrow as Wufei took a seat next to him and set the  
sword he still carried beside him against the sofa. Interpreting the expression, he  
continued. "There's another guest here, other than Relena. I assume you must know by  
now?" Heero nodded, "Yes, but I have not seen him." "Well I have. The first time I saw  
him, he was looking through Okada-san's things at the front desk. He claimed he was  
looking for something on Okada's request but that was bull. I don't think he even knew  
his name until I let it slip..." and at this he growled in frustration.  
  
"I talked to Okada about it later and it turns out I was right. The guy was lying but when  
we went to look for him, he had vanished. Then after you left I did some digging. All of  
the information he gave Okada upon checking in was false. All of it. From his name to his  
checking account. I haven't old Okada yet." Heero rubbed the base of his neck as he  
assimilated all this information. Why did it not surprise him? Perhaps because he was too  
tired at the moment for the seriousness of the matter to really sink in. For a few moments  
he deliberating telling Wufei what Duo had told him... and then decided against it. No  
matter what Heero thought about it, a hunch... much less a supernatural hunch was not  
something Wufei would take entirely seriously. He didn't need any more convincing  
anyway.   
  
Heero sighed, "So this is our bounty hunter, then." It was more statement than question.  
Wufei nodded, "That would be my guess. He's the first in a long line of them who are  
bound to catch up with us sooner or later." he paused, "If we're going to stay and ride this  
through we'll need to watch him carefully. I don't know how much he knows about us yet  
and I don't want to be caught off guard." "It's a bit late for that." Both heads turned to  
the door where, wearing his typical black and pointing a gun directly at them, was the man  
they had recently realized as their bounty hunter. They didn't waste any time. The moment  
their gazes turned on him, he fired and both Heero and Wufei dove over the backrest of  
the couch.   
  
Ignoring the increased pounding in his head Heero drew his gun once again and started  
firing from one side of the couch. The bounty hunter took cover behind the couch  
opposite theirs and began to respond with rapid force. Heero fired again and took refuge  
behind the couch as shots hit the spot he'd been firing from only moments before. He  
gritted his teeth against the shots of a semi-automatic weapon that reverberated loudly  
within his skull. It sprayed above him and hit the face of the Grandfather clock, showering  
him with shards of glass. He looked to his left where, surprisingly Wufei was returning  
fire. Heero had never thought that Wufei might be carrying something other than his  
sword with him.   
  
He shook his head as if to re-awaken himself from a dream and tiny glass shards flew from  
his hair. He was getting distracted by his surroundings. He risked the side of the couch  
again and fired at his assailant. His shots were immediately responded to and Heero was  
forced to pull himself back as bullets ripped apart the corner of the sofa. And that's when  
he felt it. It was a strong, irrational desire to... to leave. It was like an unbearable... *pull*.  
He felt as if *needed* to get out of the room, out of the building. Heero then realized that  
something on his chest was burning. He looked down and pulled the golden cross from  
beneath his tank. It was glowing softly. It was then that he realized, 'could it be... he's  
calling me..?'   
  
He needed to get away. The desire, he now realized, to run to the cove was overpowering.  
He rounded the corner again and pulled the trigger... but nothing happened. With a soft  
click, he realized he was out of bullets. A sharp cry pulled him back behind the sofa where  
he saw Wufei leaning heavily against the backrest, holding his arm. Under his hand a large  
pool of blood was blossoming over the white fabric of his shirt. "The bounty said dead or  
alive, boys! I have no qualms about killing you right here but if you want to make things  
easier on both of us you'll give it up!" The man yelled from the opposite side of the room.   
  
Ignoring him Heero approached Wufei and noticed an empty clip on the floor. Wufei had  
even thought to carry an extra. He cursed his own carelessness and looked back up at him.  
"Are you alright." Wufei nodded breathing carefully. When he heard the rustle of fabric  
from the other end of the room, Heero grabbed Wufei's weapon from his limp hand and  
rose over the back the couch. The bounty hunter had risen to walk over to their side of the  
room. Heero aimed and fired. The bounty hunter cried out a curse and dove for the back  
of the couch as the bullet made contact with the wall, inches to the left of where his head  
had been. Heero growled, and ducked as the man opened fire. His headache was making it  
hard to concentrate. He shouldn't have missed!   
  
Keeping low and turning back to Wufei, he handed him back his weapon. "I'm going to  
make a break for it. He knows he injured you. If I can make it passed him, he'll chase after  
me but I might still have time to get another clip from my room. I'm going to take this  
outside and I'll need you to cover for me." Wufei immediately realized the danger in this  
but he was in no position to argue. Trusting that Heero had a plan, Wufei nodded and  
removed his bloody hand from his injured arm. The moment there was a break in the  
stream of fire, Wufei rose over the couch and began to shoot toward the opposite couch.  
Heero made a break for it. He dashed across the room, right in front of the startled eyes of  
the bounty hunter who was so taken aback by the sheer stupidity of what Heero had just  
done that he did not draw quick enough.   
  
Heero ran across the hall into his room and slammed the door shut behind him. Quickly  
locking it, he ran for the bottom dresser drawer where he had hidden his extra clip under a  
pile of clothes the day after his arrival. He had just replaced it when there was a loud  
pounding on his door and the knob jiggled fiercely as someone from behind tried to force  
the door open. Without giving it a second thought, he ran for the sliding glass doors,  
threw them open and stepped onto the balcony just as he heard rapid fire connecting with  
the wood of his door and the door slam opened behind him. He didn't waste the time to  
look behind him.   
  
Heero jumped over the side of the balcony and once on the other side he watched as if in  
slow motion as the man behind the glass of the sliding doors raised a gun at his head and  
fired. The glass door exploded outward and shards sprayed him once again, cutting at the  
bare skin of his face and arms. Heero gritted his teeth against the pain... But there was  
pain; he could still feel the fierce pounding in his head, the stinging cuts of glass and the  
blood that began to seep from a million tiny wounds. The bounty hunter had missed. As  
quickly as he could, Heero raised his gun and fired at him. He could hear the man curse his  
failure and duck behind Heero's bed as he returned fire.   
  
Heero ducked down beneath the balcony and swung himself underneath and directly onto  
the second floor balcony below his. The bounty hunter ran onto his balcony and began to  
shoot him from above. Heero pressed himself flat against the sliding glass doors and tried  
to force them open... with no luck. They were locked from the inside. Random shots were  
continuously fired from above and all Heero could do at the moment was lay back as still  
as he could. Screams echoed from below but Heero barely took notice of them. Soon the  
man grew tired of firing without knowing if he'd hit and, not being as agile as Heero, ran  
back into the room. Heero knew it was only a matter of time before the man either broke  
into this room or got downstairs. He had to be quick.   
  
He climbed over the side of the balcony, got down and swung himself onto the first floor  
balcony. The moment his feet touched it, he ran back to the edge and jumped over the side  
hitting the wet and snowy ground at a roll. That's when he heard the screams again and  
looked up. Relena had been sitting outside on the porch, looking through the diary she had  
been obsessing over when she had heard the gun shots and had driven herself into  
hysterics. Heero's eyes widened, "Relena, get out of here!" The doors to the porch  
opened and the bounty hunter came rushing out. Despite her hysterical screaming, the man  
seemed to be completely ignoring her in favor of him. When Heero realized this, he turned  
and made a mad dash towards the slope, the bounty hunter on his heels.   
  
Running through the thickly falling snow, he grimaced as the chilled air beat against the  
numerous cuts on his skin, making their sting worse. The white blanket of snow that  
covered the ground, exploded at his feet every time his persuer missed a shot. Heero spun  
around and fired a couple times as he ran. But the loud blasts of gunfire coupled with a  
shrill distant screaming was making his head dizzy with pain and he couldn't concentrate  
well enough to fire with any of his usual pin-point accuracy. Heero spun back around to  
direct his focus on making it to the slope. The closer he got to it the more the feeling of  
urgency to reach it increased. The call was overwhelming, it was as if his life depended on  
his reaching it.   
  
Then he saw him. Duo was waiting for him near the top of the slope, just short of the  
edge, and wearing the same sense of urgency he knew was on his face. "Hurry!" Heero  
ran faster still, centering his entire focus on the person before him. He could make it. He  
knew he could make it. Pain exploded within his leg as a bullet connected with its target.  
The sheer momentum he'd held when he hit the ground sent him rolling the last few feet to  
the edge of the slope where Duo was waiting, leaving a thin trail of blood in his wake.  
"Ohmygod!" Duo scrambled onto the top now that Heero was near enough and looked  
him over with wide and horrified eyes.   
  
There was a wound bleeding profusely from his temple where a bullet had grazed him  
earlier. Heero's head been aching so much already he had barely noticed it. Every bit of  
exposed flesh was covered with cuts in various sizes and a crimson stain on the frosty  
white snow beneath the leg of Heero's torn jeans was growing steadily. The bounty hunter  
walked up to him slowly and loomed over Heero with a satisfied smile. Duo glared death  
at the man who had dared to harm his lover but the bounty hunter seemed completely  
oblivious to Duo's presence. He looked directly at Heero and spoke as if he didn't know  
Duo was even there, "so you thought you could get away from me, eh?" and the man  
laughed.  
  
Duo growled. That was it, that was enough. First the man tries to kill Heero and then he  
mocks him?!? The bounty hunter kicked Heero in the ribs and he gasped against the  
additional pain. In one swift movement, Duo stood and buried his hand in the bounty  
hunter's chest. Using the mans own energy, he slowly... ever so slowly, began to solidify  
himself into existence, while wrapping his hand around the mans heart. He stopped  
laughing. Blinking, the man's gaze moved to the air in front of him where he could finally  
see a person, a boy appearing from out of thin air. Solidifying right before his eyes. Duo  
grinned when he felt the mans heart beat faster in his hand. The bounty hunter followed  
Duo's arm into his chest and his eyes widened in silent disbelief.   
  
As Duo's hand became more tangible within the mans chest, a maniacal grin spread across  
his face and he squeezed. The cliffs rang with the sound of his scream as he fell to his  
knees. The grin left him when a dark look covered his features and he solidified just a little  
more... then pulled and felt something rip. The man coughed and blood spilled from the  
sides of his mouth. Weakly, he raised his gun to Duo's face. With the click of a safety  
being removed, a final shot echoed in the night air and the bounty hunters chin exploded in  
a mass of blood and bone. Duo rejected what energy he'd taken from the man and his  
hand slipped through the mans chest effortlessly as he fell back onto the snow covered  
ground, dead. He looked back at Heero, who'd raised his own gun above him and aimed  
at the bounty hunter from below, before he could fire.   
  
Duo's dark look was immediately replaced with one of worry as he sat down beside him.  
"Are you ok?" Heero actually smiled at the stupid question. Duo managed a weak one and  
as if reading Heero's mind... "it wouldn't have hurt me, ya know." Heero nodded, "I  
know. I just reacted." Duo's smile gained strength at the words. "Well, I should go now...  
That girl is coming and if she see's me here she'll start screeching again." Heero looked to  
his right to see Wufei and Okada, closely followed by Relena all running towards him. He  
was glad to see that, besides his injured arm, Wufei seemed to look alright.   
  
When he turned his head, Duo was moving back toward the edge of the slope. Heero  
reached out a hand to grab onto him, to stop him, but his aching mind had not yet  
registered the fact that Duo was keeping himself ghostly and reaching out to him would do  
no good. But when Heero's hand passed through him, Duo seemed to feel it and turned  
back to him. "Don't go." Duo's expression was unreadable. He crawled back over to  
Heero and placed a hand over Heero's chest. Duo became tangible and solid again only  
long enough to bend down and place a passionate kiss on Heero's lips. He removed his  
hand and came away ghostly once more, "make sure to find some place safe as soon as  
you can. If you scare me like that again, I might just kill you myself." but he was grinning  
when he said it. He looked away quickly, crawled over to the edge of the slope and  
disappeared behind it. Heero stared after him with a thoughtful look. There had been tears  
in his eyes...  
  
"Heero!" Heero looked back in time to see Wufei make it to him first and kneel down next  
to him, "Shimatta, that guy really messed you up..." Okada arrived a few feet behind  
Wufei but could not take his eyes away from the body. He stared at it as if it were going  
to get right back up and attack him. Finally he tore his gaze away, "at least you got him  
before he could kill you, Yuy-san... I just regret I wasn't more suspicious of the man."  
Heero winced as Wufei brought him to a sitting position, "there was nothing you could  
Okada-san. This isn't your area of expertise... It's all right." Okada raised an eyebrow,  
"this coming from the one most injured." Heero gazed up at him, "more reason for you to  
believe it."  
  
"Okada-san, help me." Wufei said as he swung one of Heero's arms around his neck.  
Okada went to help Heero up from his other side just as Relena came stumbling up to  
them, "Ohmygod, ohmygod, ohmygod! Heero are you alright?!" she said as she came  
towards him. "Keep away, woman!" Relena gasped at Wufei's angry growl. Just then,  
Okada took firm hold of Heero around the waist and they lifted him off the ground. It was  
still snowing heavily and random snow flakes settled themselves wherever they could cling  
to. Hair, faces, blood-soaked wounds... Relena looked him over worriedly. He was wet  
and slightly muddy, there was bloodspatter all over his clothes but some of it was not his.  
She followed the trail of blood on the ground and finally noticed the corpse with near half  
a head.   
  
Relena let out an ear-piercing shriek and Heero groaned, growing slightly limp in Wufei  
and Okada's arms. Okada's eyes widened and he shook Heero gently, "Yuy-san, do not  
pass out!" Heero shook his head and blinked a few times with the effort to stay conscious.  
If he had felt exhausted before it was nothing to how he felt now. When Wufei saw that he  
wasn't going black out on them he turned toward Relena with a menacing look and  
snapped, "get the hell away, woman! You are more hindrance than help! You have no  
business out here in the first place!" and with that he began to move forward, prompting  
both Okada and Heero to move with him. As Okada passed, he gave Relena a placating  
look, "Why don't you go inside Darlian-san. We'll take care of Heero." and passed right  
by her, heading back toward the Inn.   
  
Relena stood there by herself with wide insulted eyes. She stomped her foot angrily even  
though no one was there to see it, "no business out here?? Heero is *my* fiancée! How  
can he say that?!" "Open your eyes, sweetheart. You are seriously deluded." Relena's eyes  
widened and turned to the dead body, afraid the voice she had just heard had come from  
the disfigured corpse. But the corpse's mouth along with half it's vocal cords were  
damaged if not completely blown away. The voice laughed. "I'm over here." Relena  
looked up and leaning lazily with her arms on the edge of the cliff, staring straight back at  
her was a ghostly mirror image of herself. She gasped. "Ohmygod, it's another one!"  
Selena laughed, watching Relena tremble slightly with fear. "W-what do you want?"  
Selena grinned at her, resting her head against her hand and pointing with her other one,  
"That wouldn't happen to be my diary you're holding, would it?"  
----------  
  
End of Part 7 


	10. No Fury

Disclaimer: Gundam Wing and all it's drop dead gorgeous bishounen don't belong to me. -.- Sigh.

Altered Warnings for this chapter: Shounen ai, AU, 1+2, plenty of blood, angst, graphic violence, and at least some form of death. *shrugs*

Night of the New Moon 

Part 8 "No Fury…" 

by: Lotus-chan

Sofie came running through the patio doors still in her nightclothes as Wufei and Okada neared the back of the Inn. "Good heavens! Quickly, inside!" She opened both doors and stood back allowing them to walk through with their heavily injured burden. Sofie took one look toward the cliffs and raised a hand over her mouth. She closed her eyes and addressed Okada as he passed her, "did 'she' do this?" Okada shook his head, "apparently Wufei was right. The man was after their lives and Heero had to defend himself." 

She opened her eyes but didn't dare look back outside. Taking a deep breath, she walked inside and closed the doors behind her. Quickly moving ahead of them, she kneeled in front of Heero. "Can you tell me where you've been injured, Heero-san?" Even as she asked, her eyes were roaming over his body, taking in his condition, assessing his injuries at a glance before she would allow herself to examine him properly. When Heero nodded and began relaying his long list of injuries, Wufei caught Okada's eye. "We'll have to dispose of the body." Okada was silent several moments before he sighed. 

"No, I cannot do that. I cannot have something like that on my conscience." Wufei paused, mulling that over. "… Would the police believe the ghost had done this? Or suicide? You understand we can't afford to tell them the truth." Okada smiled humorlessly, "what with everything that's happened here in the past… they'll believe anything I tell them." Wufei nodded and was momentarily surprised when he felt Heero lifted from his grasp. Sofie had pushed him aside and taken Heero into her arms. "We'll take him to his room for now but he will need a hospital." 

"Iie," Heero began. Okada looked at him, "Heero's right, there is broken glass all over his room…" Heero glanced in Wufei's direction and even through his pain-fogged mind he was able to see the wheels turning behind the Chinese boy's eyes. "Wufei…" Wufei looked up to Heero after a moment and nodded. "Okada-san, please modify your log." Okada turned to him in surprise. "I need it to read that Heero and I left before the bounty hunter's arrival. If the authorities are as familiar with the rising of this ghost as you say, they might find holes in our story if we tell them she was responsible for this death so long after the new moon. You need to tell them that this was a suicide." 

Okada nodded but Sofie frowned and shifted Heero in her arms. The bullet wound on his calf was still bleeding and she seemed eager to get moving. "If you two were not here when this happened then what of Heero? I don't want to move him from the Inn until I've examined him and if we're getting the police involved, we need to notify them quickly." She looked back toward the doors but what she hadn't said was clear. It would be far too suspicious if the body was left there for too long. "Can you treat him?" She glanced back to Wufei and frowned again. "For now, but he needs a hospital." Wufei shook his head. "Too risky." He turned to Okada, "they won't search the Inn will they?" 

Okada shook his head. "Then take him to the basement and do what you can," he said turning back to Sofie. "We'll figure something out later if Heero needs more attention." Sofie nodded, albeit reluctantly, and rushed off with Heero drifting in her arms. "Wufei?" Okada looked at him almost as if he'd never seen him before. Wufei turned back to him, all business. "Get Relena. If it's to protect Heero, I know she'll agree. Make something up between the two of you and make sure Sofie is aware of the details. I'll go into the hunter's room and remove anything suspicious." 

Okada nodded and Wufei started to walk down the hall but slowed suddenly and stopped. "… They'll want you to close the Inn won't they? They won't care whether or not it was her doing." He didn't turn around to look at Okada as he said it. Okada began walking toward the porch, "… hai. But I need it to be this way… maybe it's better this way." Wufei listened mutely as Okada opened the door and stepped out onto the porch to retrieve Relena. When the doors closed Wufei ran down the hall. They had business to take care of. 

--------- 

Wufei entered the bounty hunter's former room and began searching every inch of it for anything suspicious. After pulling a Beretta from under the mattress and two knives from inside the nightstand, he inspected the duffle that had been carelessly left on the bed. The hunter's entire arsenal appeared to be inside, along with a wallet full of fake ID's. Remembering which name Okada told him was in the log, he removed all other ID's and left the wallet on the nightstand. Dumping the gun and knives into the duffle, he walked over to the desk where a suitcase was laid out along side a laptop. 

He searched the suitcase, removing another small gun and two floppy disks from the inside before he closed it. Sitting in the desk chair, Wufei opened the laptop and hacked his way into the system with ease. His expression darkened when he began looking through the files saved onto the hard drive. There was detailed information on all the Gundam pilots, including information taken (or perhaps given) from OZ, as well as information tracking Relena Peacecraft's movements from far before the bounty had been issued. The laptop also appeared to be connected to a wireless network that was sharing information. 

Despite the implications, he knew that even if another bounty hunter with this information caught up with them soon, he now had an open door to their systems. He wasn't about to make it easy for them. Wufei quickly checked the disks and grinned. Apparently the bounty hunter had done a bit of digging and discovered the identity of the bounty's client. There was enough damaging information on the Romefeller officials here that Wufei felt satisfied they would soon be out of danger. 

Wufei closed the laptop, grabbed the disks and slunk the duffle bag full of firearms over his shoulder. Quickly leaving the room, he rushed up the stairs to his room and burst through his door. Throwing the other items onto his bed, he opened the hunter's laptop on his dresser and went to the closet to retrieve his own things. Opening his bag, Wufei removed a red disk and threw it onto the dresser next to the laptop. Rushing back he pulled up a chair and established a secure connection to the colonies as fast as he could.

Within moments a vid window popped up with Master O's surprised face looking in. "Wufei? I didn't expect to hear from you for some time yet." Wufei sat back with a sigh and told him everything that been happening since his last contact... conveniently omitting Heero from the events. "… and if the information on this disk were to fall into the hands of the media, Romefeller would be ruined." Master O smiled not entirely innocently. "I'll make sure the information gets to where it needs to be." Wufei nodded and inserted the disk into the laptop. "Uploading information now." They waited until the information cleared and Master O nodded back to Wufei. "Will you need me to find another place for you in the meantime?" 

Wufei shook his head, "not quite yet. I've got… some unfinished business here." Master O was silent a moment but nodded again and said, "If that is the case then I will be expecting to hear from you again soon. Out." His vid window winked out and Wufei removed the disk from the laptop and went to put it in his bag. He walked back to the dresser and grabbed the red disk he'd thrown onto it earlier. Inserting it into the A drive of the hunters computer, he reconnected to the network he'd just discovered and began uploading the virus from his disk. 

While he waited for the upload to complete, he recovered all articles of clothing he'd placed in the drawers of his dresser or had lying about and stuffed them hurriedly into his travel bag. He laid that on his bed and left to the room next door. The door to Heero's room had been shot up near the handle and pushed all the way open. His room was a mess of glass and snow that had blown in through the broken patio doors. Wufei was glad to see Heero had had the sense to put his own travel bag into the closet, and it was therefore untouched. He zipped it open and quickly grabbed Heero's few meager belongings, stuffing them inside. He returned to his room shortly to find the upload had been successful and allowed himself a satisfied smirk. That would most definitely slow down the rest of the hunters on the network. 

----------- 

Wufei opened the basement door and walked down the stairs. He looked over the iron railing below him to see Relena sitting on a large box, facing Okada as he discussed something with her. Further behind them, Sofie knelt on the dusty floor and tended to Heero. She'd pulled an old mattress from out of somewhere and covered it with fresh sheets. Heero lay over them, stripped to his boxers and heavily bandaged. Sofie had just finished bandaging the wound on Heero's temple when she looked up to see him step onto the basement floor. Wufei was carrying Heero's and his duffle bags each over one shoulder. The hunter's duffle and laptop were in his arms. One look at Wufei however, and Sofie's eyes widened. 

"Wufei!" Cursing softly she got up and nearly knocked Okada over as she rushed to him. She gave him a murderous glare as she yanked one of the duffle bags from his shoulder and he winced. "What the hell do you think you're doing?? Just because you're not falling down dead doesn't mean you have to abuse yourself like this." She grabbed his good arm and yanked him over to Heero's makeshift bed. Wufei pulled his arm out of her grasp and dumped his things at the foot of the mattress. "What is wrong with you, woman? I too have things I needed to take care of!" 

She forcefully sat him down near Heero's feet and began unbuttoning his shirt. "You could've asked for help... an injured arm and you still think you can be lifting heavy things like this… and without so much as a bandage??" Once she'd undone his shirt half way, she yanked the collar down over his left shoulder and pulled his arm out none too gently. Wufei hissed. The dried blood had plastered the sleeve of his shirt to part of the wound and she'd peeled it off rather quickly as she removed his arm from the ruined shirt. Wufei glanced at the sleeve and noticed with some surprise that he'd bled over it so badly it looked as if he'd dyed the sleeve red. When…? 

Wufei glanced back at Sofie as she began cleaning the wound and realized why she'd been so angry. He'd been so preoccupied with stabilizing the situation, instinctively slipping into the mind he'd needed as a Gundam Pilot, that he'd forgotten about and completely ignored his wounds. He winced and glanced back to his arm only to receive another surprise. The wound… was much bigger than he'd thought it was. "It looks as if the bullet only grazed you but it did quite a bit of damage as it passed. I want you to lay off it for a while and leave the heavy lifting to someone else." 

Sofie finished bandaging his arm and sat back. She frowned at it and then to Heero, who lay quietly on the bed, and said, "I don't like this. It's the best I can do but you and Heero are going to need a hospital." She watched as Heero's face twisted into a grimace momentarily and he finally drifted off. "I'll need you to wake him once every hour, just to be certain. If that bullet had been just an inch to the left…" Wufei looked at the bandage around the other ex-pilot's head. She was right, they did need better help than this. Heero was ill and had a bullet in his calf. Wufei may not have had a bullet in his arm but the wound still hurt like a bitch. 

It really said something about how tired Heero had to be to fall asleep in his condition. Wufei wasn't sure he'd be able to do it. He looked back to his newly acquired laptop and it hit him. "I know a way for us to get help without being discovered. I know someone who might be willing…" Sofie brightened considerably, "Medical attention?" Wufei nodded. "Excellent! See about that quickly. I have to go upstairs and wash up before the police get here." She was, of course, referring to the blood stains on her night dress from attending to their wounds. Sofie got up and headed for the door. At the foot of the steps, Okada placed a hand over her arm. "I've explained the details to Relena and she's agreed." Sofie nodded soberly and continued. 

Okada finally turned to Wufei, "You will stay here with Heero I presume?" Wufei nodded. "I cleared out our rooms upstairs. If they go up there, I suppose you can tell them the storm blew the glass in and just hope they don't notice the door." He sighed and massaged his temple with his good hand. He was getting a headache. "You've called the police already then?" Okada grunted a silent affirmative to this, "ah, after I retrieved Darlian-san from the cliff. They'll be a while in getting here because of the snow storm." Wufei then shifted his gaze to Relena. He gave her a silent glare as she stared off into nothingness silently. At least by backing their story, she would finally come in useful. 

Okada eyed Wufei worriedly, "you'll be alright?" "Aa," Wufei said nodding and glanced sidelong at Heero. "I'm not the one we have to worry about." Okada was silent a moment before he sighed. "I'll be heading upstairs now," said he rather tiredly. He passed in front of Relena which seemed to snap her out of her daze. She watched as Okada began the climb up the stairs and looked at Heero. She almost seemed to hesitate for a moment before she got up and started walking toward the mattress. Wufei glared at her as she approached, "you should go upstairs with Okada and meet the police." 

She ignored him and stopped beside the mattress. Sofie had draped a blanket up to the too pale skin of Heero's chest. The golden cross dangled innocently from his neck, lying sidelong over his pillow. She stared at it a moment and reached out for it. The edge of a large blade rose an inch from her nose in a split second and she gasped, taking a step back. "…Did you hear me? You shouldn't be seen rising from the basement when they get here. It could put us all at risk." Relena looked at Wufei, "but… Heero's hurt…" "…all the more reason he doesn't need to see your face when he wakes up." She looked affronted. "W-who are you to decide anything for Heero?!" 

Wufei's glare darkened, "If you'll remember, we only survived this war because we knew what had to be done for ourselves and our allies. Heero needs to rest. You will only *prove* you're a nuisance by hovering about and doing nothing useful." She was so offended, all she managed to do was stare at him for a moment. But Wufei watched as the look on her face turned to desperation, "I… I just wanted…" Wufei sighed internally and stood up, advancing on her with his sword still raised. "Get lost, woman. You annoy me." He colored the statement with a malice he was really too tired to feel but Relena seemed to get the picture. She turned around slowly and headed toward the stairs, giving Heero a last lingering look. 

Wufei looked up at Okada who'd paused at the top of the stairs. The Inn keeper quickly opened the door and walked through but Wufei had caught the look of mild surprise on his face and knew he'd seen everything. This time, he did sigh. He simply didn't have the patience to humor that woman any more… and as long as Heero couldn't fend her off, he would do it for him. He looked at Heero's feverish, fitfully sleeping face and wondered when he'd become so protective of his friend… because friend he was. When Relena finally made it to the top and closed the door behind her Wufei collapsed at the end of Heero's mattress and pulled the laptop onto his lap. 

He opened it and began establishing the secure connection he would need. He glanced sidelong at the other boy and silently hoped Heero would forgive him. He'd done so much to remain cut off from the others and deserved his privacy if that's what he wanted… but Wufei had run out of options. The laptop beeped to tell him the connection had been established and Wufei waited for it to be accepted. If this didn't work, he'd have to leave an e-mail message and he wasn't too happy about that idea. There was no telling how often he … Wufei's train of thought came to a halt when a vid window popped up on the screen and Quatre's wide, excited eyes met his own for the first time in weeks. 

"Wufei! I'm so glad you're alright! I've been looking everywhere for you since the contract was announced. I was able to find Trowa but you and Heero were missing for so long I was beginning to fear the worst. Not even Doctor J can find Heero. Where have you…" "Quatre." A pained smile covered Wufei's face and it was that more than Wufei's interruption that quieted him. "It's nice to see you too. Heero is here with me." Quatre brightened, "How are the two of you?" Wufei sobered, "not good. That's what I'm calling about… we need your help." Quatre straightened and adopted a business like demeanor. "Explain," and Wufei did. He explained everything that had happened, ending with their current predicament and Heero's condition. 

Quatre was stunned. "My god … of course I'll help you. Where are you right now?" Wufei gave him their exact location. "That's perfect. We're not far; Trowa and I are staying in one of my family's estates outside New York. We own a private hospital there. I can get you tended to no questions asked." Relief washed over him, "how soon can you be here?" Wufei asked. "I'll have a couple helicopters sent to the Inn immediately. I'll be going personally. It's still early so we may make it before noon…" Wufei glanced at his watch. He wasn't surprised to see it read one in the morning. "Can you wait a few hours? The police are not here yet and I don't know how long it will take them to clear out." 

Quatre nodded, "how long can Heero hold out?" Wufei looked at the former pilot of Wing. Blood was seeping through the bandage around his head, it would need changing soon. Heero's face was pale with the exception of a slight feverish flush over his cheeks but he was still sleeping, undisturbed. It occurred to him that the bandage on his leg might also need changing soon. He turned back to Quatre, "his life isn't in danger." Quatre frowned. "That's not comforting. I'll send the helicopters at noon instead. We'll be there before nightfall." Wufei nodded. "I appreciate this." The Winner heir smiled in the vid window, "I'm glad to see you again, even under the circumstances and it's really no trouble." 

Wufei nodded his thanks, "there's one last thing I have to ask. Can you keep Heero's whereabouts from the scientists? Heero is aware that Doctor J is looking for him and he would prefer not to be found. Master O doesn't know." Quatre didn't look in the least surprised, "I understand. Trowa and I will be the last to know until he chooses otherwise." "Arigatou, Quatre." Quatre smiled, "no thanks needed. See you in a few hours." Quatre's window winked out and Wufei canceled the connection. He closed the laptop and slipped it into his travel bag. 

"Duo…" Wufei's head jerked back to Heero but the boy was still asleep. Heero shifted, grimacing in his sleep and then quieted. Wufei looked on in amazement. Even now, in pain and asleep, he called out for him. The Chinese boy leaned forward to rest his arms against his thighs as he looked at Heero with something akin to wonder. He was willing to go through all this because he'd found something worth holding onto. Something he hadn't been ordered to protect or value, but something he wanted to protect and value. 

He looked away and gazed blankly at the dusty floor in front of him. Images of the people he'd valued and lost during the war flashed before his eyes. The war had stolen his family, his home... all the people he cared about. He closed his eyes when his memories brought him back to a grassy field and revealed the deceptively gentle face of the only woman in his life. He hoped Heero knew just how lucky he was. Because even if the one person who had managed to find a place in his heart had died long ago… Heero still had the chance to be with that important person. Maybe… maybe that was the real reason Wufei had stayed. To help his friend keep… what Wufei himself could not have. 

----------

 "Suicide? A man's face is laying all over the cliff and I'm to believe he *wanted* to die that way??" Okada crossed his arms and nodded. The policeman, whose nametag read 'Bill', looked at Okada incredulously for moment before he shook his head and sighed deeply. He flipped through his notepad until he reached a previous page, "and this young lady was your only other guest?" "That's right." Relena chimed in, "and I saw everything. I looked out the window and saw him walk to the edge, and kill himself." Okada leaned slightly towards her and whispered, "you're window doesn't overlook the cove, Darlian-san." She smiled a bit, "I didn't say which window." The policeman yawned still looking through his notepad and failed to notice the exchange. He didn't really seem concerned with the minor details. 

"You didn't see any strange apparitions or anything of the sort around Mr. … Jones when he shot himself?" Okada looked pointedly at her. "Of course not. I … don't believe in ghosts." She replied. That caught the man's attention and he raised a bushy eyebrow at her. "That so?" He looked at Okada and grinned. "You're losing your touch, old man. I thought you managed to convince them all." Relena blinked. He was making jokes… there was a dead man with his face missing outside and the nice policeman was cracking jokes. Okada smiled back politely. "Maybe I am getting a little rusty." 

A policewoman entered the lobby from behind them carrying a trash bag with the hunter's things. "Nothing in the room but a…" She raised a hand to her mouth and yawned, "excuse me. Nothing but a suitcase and keys for the parked car outside, chief." She seemed rather tired and annoyed to be there. The policeman nodded to her and she made for the front entrance, grumbling about the hour under her breath. Relena raised an eyebrow and Bill the policeman noticed, "you'll have to excuse her, miss. Five in the morning means the nightshift was just about over and coffee doesn't get brewed until six." Relena immediately smiled and waved a hand, "So um… what happens now?" 

Bill sighed and closed the notepad. "Nothing," he looked very deliberately at Okada, "… it was a suicide after all." Okada's face betrayed nothing but Relena was aware that he had tensed slightly. Sofie, who had been standing aside silently after giving her account of what happened, rubbed Okada's back soothingly and addressed the policeman with accusation in her voice, "don't you believe what we're saying? Or do you think one of us killed him?" Bill looked at Sofie with some alarm, "No no! Of course not Sofia dear. I know none of you are capable of such a gruesome murder!" Relena watched the two suspiciously. Did they know each other? 

"Then why were you looking at Okada like that?" Bill the policeman smiled painfully; pacifyingly. "You don't miss one, do you Sofia. It isn't that I believe Okada capable of murder…" he looked at the Inn keeper then, "… it's that I *do* believe him capable of slightly modifying the truth in order to protect something." Okada didn't have to try hard to sound affronted but he was quite tense and schooled his features into a subtle mask as his thoughts drifted down to the boys bellow them. "… and what is that supposed to mean?" Bill pocketed his notepad and turned as if to go. "It means that you have two weeks to shut this place down. We warned you if there was another death then this is what would happen." 

Okada was so relieved that his voice came out surprised, "that's it? You think I'm trying to protect the Inn?" The policeman looked at him as if he'd asked a stupid question, "off the record, yes, I do." Sofie glared. "I hope you can prove that." Bill gave her long suffering look, "of course not, dear. That's why it's off the record. Okada has a witness and there's no real proof anything else happened but this really has to stop." Sofie crossed her arms, "I've asked you not to call me that. We're not married anymore." Bill nodded regretfully, "as you keep reminding me." He glanced at Okada, "I'm sorry Kenji, but we can't allow the Inn to stay open after this. There may be no proof that an apparition or second party was responsible but it doesn't change the fact that there's a dead man on Inn property." 

"But…!" Relena began angrily. "I understand," the Inn keeper said, cutting her off. Bill nodded, "I'm glad we have an understanding then. We will be finished outside in a couple hours and the coroner should be on his way soon. I will be back in one week to see how matters are coming along." He glanced at Relena, "your young guest should be gone by then. Good day." He walked out the front doors and Sofie looked at Okada worriedly, "I'm so sorry about this…" Okada shook his head wearing a sad smile, "I knew this would happen when I called them." She seemed surprised, "but then why…" 

Okada's gaze turned to the East Wing hall that led to the basement door. "I refuse to allow what happened to them, happen to anyone else. It wasn't just the bounty hunter. They came here seeking safety and received a threat greater than they could handle because it wasn't something they could fight or control … It's better this way, with the Inn closing. As a matter of fact, I should have done this sooner." Sofie looked at him with a little surprise and something else. "Okada…" 

She knew how much this Inn meant to him. The decision to do this must not have come easily. She shifted her gaze to Relena and vaguely felt some distant alarm settle in her stomach. Relena was also staring at the East Wing hall but with an expression so blank and eyes so uncharacteristically distant that she knew there had to be something troubling girl. Sofie's gaze fell upon the old leather bound book Relena clutched against her chest and somehow didn't believe that what was troubling her had anything to do with the Inn closing.

------------- 

"Going back down there won't do you a bit of good, Relena. He's got his guard dog by his side and besides, do you really want to lower yourself to begging him for his affection?" The disembodied voice came from several feet away but the icy wind that ran down Relena's spine as the girl spoke carried her voice to Relena's ears alone. Relena clutched the leather bound diary closer, "I… I wasn't going to…" she whispered. A hand fell on her shoulder and she jumped. Sofie looked at her with some concern, "are you alright, dear?" Relena tore her eyes away from the hall and managed to spread a benign smile across her face. 

"Hai," she answered. Sofie smiled and turned to Okada, "I'm going get some breakfast cooked. If you need me, I'll be in the kitchen." The Inn keeper nodded to her and she walked past Relena toward the East Wing. The icy patch of air near Relena moved out of the way as the cook walked by. Relena hesitated and then began walking toward the hall after her when Okada's voice caught her, "Darlian-san, I wondered if you could be so kind as to help me clean up Heero's room before somebody notices?" Relena looked at him and the soft voice hissed in her ear again, "Hmph. You see? Even the bloody Inn Keeper is trying to keep you from seeing him again. They're all working against you, *all* of them." 

Relena swallowed hard and struggled to keep the pseudo smile from faltering. "Uh … hai. I'll be up soon. I just need a minute." Okada hesitated but nodded and started up the stairs. Relena began walking down the hallway but as she approached the basement door, a ghostly apparition took shape in front of it, arms crossed and glare determined. "Now is not the time for this, Relena. You will not accomplish anything by going down there just yet. You can't even know if he's conscious." She stopped in front of Selena's ghost. "I… I have to hear it from him. I won't… I can't believe it…" A smile that was half sinister and half pity wormed its way onto Selena's face. She reached out a ghostly hand to Relena's cheek and Relena winced at the icy touch. 

"I know it's difficult to accept but why would I lie to you? You and I are kindred spirits. I'm only here to help you and you must want my help deep down or why did you bring me up here?" Selena gave her diary a loving caress through Relena's fingers. Relena took an involuntary step back. "I'm … I'm not so sure that…" She paused when Selena swayed weightlessly around her to embrace her from behind. "Come now, you do remember our little discussion outside don't you? I thought I had opened your eyes." Relena froze as the memories came back to her. She'd held some hope that the things Selena had told her might not be true… but perhaps, she was wrong…

------ About four hours ago ------

Selena grinned at her, resting her head against her hand and pointing with her other one, "That wouldn't happen to be my diary you're holding, would it?" Relena looked at the diary in her hands and then back to the ghost in front of her. "Y-yours..?" But Selena was staring at the small leather bound book in her hands. "I haven't seen it in a long time, where did you find it?" Relena stared a moment. She couldn't believe it… a ghost was talking to her. "Who are you..?" Selena frowned when her question went ignored. "My name is Selena and that," she pointed, "is my diary you've been reading." 

The former Queen of the World took a step back, "H-how did you…" "…know you were reading it?" Selena grinned, "I've been watching you from afar, sweet heart." She shrugged, "the best I can from this vantage point." Relena's eyes widened, "you've what??" This time, Selena schooled her features into friendly innocence. "I've seen how horribly you're treated, and by that guy you like too… it's a pity he doesn't know a good catch when he sees one." That stopped her. Relena looked at her curiously and somewhat suspiciously. "Wait… there's supposed to be a ghost killing people here…" 

Selena's smile was an artful mask of innocent humor, "you're not dead yet are you? There are lots of ghosts in old places like this and I'm not the only one here. Whoever said that killer ghost had to be me?" Relena blinked, "then, it's not you..?" Selena placed a hand over her chest and gave the girl in front of her a frightened, half insulted look. "Of course not! Do you honestly think I look like I'm capable of hurting anyone?" Relena considered that and took a few steps closer, avoiding the blood seeping through the snow, and kneeled in front of the cliff edge. "Then why are you here?" Selena glanced at the spot she choose, "don't get too close, now. I died after falling from that very spot. It was… an accident." Relena closed her free hand over the safety railing that spanned the edge of the cliff along side Inn property. 

The ghostly apparition that looked so much like her, raised a pair of identical cornflower blue eyes to look directly into her own. "I came here because you did. I finally have the chance to talk to you and I didn't want to waste it. I want to help you." Relena raised an eyebrow, "help? How so?" The dead girl's gaze shifted to the three men who were still walking toward the porch. "You love him so much and so deeply and yet he doesn't seem to return your feelings; doesn't know how to appreciate the great well of emotion you hold for him…" Relena blinked and suddenly it all came back to her. The pain she'd seen turned to words as she read the diary and saw what happened to this poor girl as her love went unreciprocated. 

"Wait," she said as the last pages of the diary came to mind. "Just what kind of help are you offering? In your diary, you said you were ready to kill Katsuhiro for not loving you back." Selena's glare barely contained the fiery rage that sprung up within, "don't you dare presume to understand my feelings just because you read a few words in an old book!" Relena fell back in surprise and Selena raised a hand to her mouth, catching herself before she did anything else to give herself away. "I-I'm sorry… it's just still painful…" She sighed but it was only for show as she wasn't really breathing, "… and it was a mistake…" She looked apologetically at Relena, "Don't you think that the hundreds of years I've spent here are enough to realize the err of my ways?" 

She looked away and smiled inwardly when she noticed Relena taking interest in her story again. "I understand now how foolish I was. I only regret that I will never have a second chance with Katsuhiro… However, this is precisely the reason I've come to you. Because I see the same events taking place in your life and I see you suffering as I have suffered." She reached out tentatively past the cliff edge to touch Relena's hand. When her hand didn't fade she darted a quick glance to the diary Relena was holding, 'so that's how he did it…' she mused. Selena's face looked into her counterpart's with false sincerity, "I want to prevent you from being hurt as I was." 

Relena's brows furrowed and she glanced back toward the Inn. Heero and the others were just making it inside. "H-Heero wouldn't hurt me. He loves…" "He does not." Relena's attention darted back to the ghost and she drew her hand away. Her eyes her wide and defensive. "How would you know?" She frowned, "I've only just met you." Selena shook her head, "but I haven't only just met you, or him. Haven't I told you already? I've been watching the Inn. Do you honestly think the attitude he gives you is love?" Relena wasn't thrown, "that's just the way he is. I've accepted that." It was Selena who frowned this time, "He's rude to you, he runs from you, he tries to avoid you, his friend is horrible to you and he does nothing about it. Are you about to tell me that he's just playing 'hard to get'?" 

Relena opened her mouth and then closed it. It was something she had tried to avoid thinking about… "Besides," Selena continued, "did you ever consider that he might be interested in someone else?" Relena blinked and drew herself back as if affronted. "He would never do such a thing." The ghost before her was unimpressed, "why? Because he's so in love with you?" Relena paused, speechless once again. For the first time, doubts began to surface in her mind. "… but, even if… who would he…" "Isn't it obvious?" Relena drew her gaze back to Selena. Selena's expression was sympathetic and not entirely false. "You know who it is… who *he* is. You met him yesterday morning, didn't you?" Relena's eyes widened. She remembered… 

"You asked him what he was doing, being so familiar with Ka… with Heero. Because of what you saw that morning during sunrise…" Selena trailed off deliberately and watched as the realization finally struck her living counterpart. As if to finalize the matter she added, "you can't even be sure he likes girls." Relena's eyes went impossibly wide and she started shaking her head absently even as everything began to fall into place in her mind. Tears welled up in her eyes, "it's not true." Selena was silent a moment. "It is… but it doesn't have to be." Relena gave her a helpless, teary gaze and in the back of her ghostly mind, she knew she had her. Her voice was heavy with sympathy when she said, "I can help you." 

Relena looked a question at her. "Look into your own memories." Selena started, "To deny that your Heero has fallen under that retched boy's love spell is to deny what your own eyes have shown you. But all is not lost. If you want Heero to be yours, I can make him yours. All I need is for you to let me in," and she reached out a hand to Relena expectantly. Relena drew herself back farther on instinct. "How can *you* make Heero love me if what you said is true? If he really loves someone else." Selena tried desperately to keep the frustration out of her voice, "I'm a ghost, ne? The person Heero loves is a ghost as well. I know about these things; I'm from the same world and I could sever the ties that unite them," she lied.

Selena leaned over the edge, onto the cliff surface and reached out her hand again. "Trust me, I will help you win your true love back." Relena looked at the outstretched hand hesitantly. "At what price?" Selena's hand fell away and she gave her a look of determination. 'Not as stupid as I thought, are you?' She sat on the edge of the cliff and smoothed out her ghostly dress. "I'm not asking you to pay a price. All I need is your permission to enter your body temporarily. Once you let me in, I will be able fix your problems with your beloved." Relena stood up. The snow was seeping into her clothes, soaking her and she was getting cold. "I'll… think about it. I have to be going inside now…" 

"No, wait!" She couldn't leave now. Selena was almost frantic. There was no guarantee she would come back, she had to finish this now. Relena looked at her again and was surprised to see ghostly tears within the other girl's eyes. "Please don't leave me alone. Won't you take me with you? At least until you've thought it over?" Relena was silent a long moment before she heard Okada's voice calling her from the patio. The battle on Relena's face finally gave way to sympathy and she nodded. "Ok," she said finally. "You can come with me." Selena smiled more to herself than to Relena. "Just keep my diary with you as long as I'm near you or I could be in danger, ne?" Relena nodded and turned to walk toward the waiting Inn Keeper. The ghost got up with a self satisfied smirk once Relena's back was turned. Making sure she was at the right distance, Selena kept herself invisible and followed. 

----------- 

Selena backed away and crossed her arms over her chest as Relena reached out to the door knob in front of her. She hesitated, "Not yet…?" Selena smiled. "Wait until he's had time to rest. This thing Okada wants you to do, despite being an obvious diversionary tactic, might allow you time to think as well." Relena's hand fell away from the knob. "Hai, you're right." She turned around and began to make her way back to the lobby. Selena glared sidelong at the door before she followed Relena. That troublesome Chinese boy… He might end up getting in the way. Neither Relena or herself might have much chance of getting anywhere near Heero if something was not done about him… 

------------ 

Heero remained still as Sofie changed his dressings a few hours later. "The police have all gone by now, so it's safe to go upstairs, Wufei. *You,*" she said to Heero, "will be staying here. I don't want you moving around too much in your condition." She finished bandaging his forehead and moved over to Wufei. "You said you were going to find yourselves some proper medical attention?" Heero's quiet gaze darted to Wufei and his eyes narrowed silently. Wufei picked it up in his peripheral vision but his expression remained neutral when he answered. "Hai, I contacted a friend of ours and he agreed to help us." 

Wufei glanced at his watch, "He should be sending his people here for us by now. They will most likely arrive before sunset." Wufei did glance at Heero then but Heero didn't say anything. Sofie took Wufei's injured arm and began removing the soiled dressing. "How will they be getting here?" "Helicopter." She looked surprised and smiled vaguely. "Really? That isn't very subtle. Will they be coming up the coastline then?" Wufei nodded, "most likely." Heero glanced off to the side and brought a hand up to the bandage around his head. He adjusted it slightly and winced. Sofie noticed. 

"I know that must be a lot more painful than you're letting on, Heero. I was going into town to get you some medicine for that fever as soon as I was done here. I'll be sure to pick up a few painkillers as well." Heero nodded his thanks but remained silent. No one spoke until she was finished re-bandaging Wufei's arm. She closed her first aid kit and got up. "Well, if you get hungry I set aside some of yesterday's stu for both of you in the kitchen. I'll be back as soon as I can so that I can cook you boys something nice before you leave." Wufei nodded to her, "arigatou." She smiled to him, "take care of yourselves while I'm gone." 

They watched her until she was all the way up the stairs and through the basement door. Wufei braced himself for Heero's reaction. "Was it Quatre?" Still not looking at him, Wufei nodded. He was surprised to hear a sigh of what could only be relief behind him and he turned. Heero was leaning against the wall his mattress was set against. The feeling he gave off was both relieved and tired. "He won't tell them." Wufei shook his head, feeling somewhat relieved himself. "No, he won't." Heero raised his hand to the chain around his neck and tugged at it until the cross fell into his hand. He toyed with it absently and asked, "What did you say to him?" 

Wufei watched him and couldn't help the small wave of guilt that struck him, "Nearly everything from the moment you and I ran into each other." The hand stopped, "nearly?" A pause. "I told him what he needed to know." After a moment Heero nodded. "… and he'll be here before sunset?" Wufei's gaze drifted away guiltily and he searched the rest of the basement for something of interest, "hai." There were some paintings that had been removed from a large box not too far away. The ones resting against it had their backs to him but the one that had been laid on top seemed to be face up. He couldn't quite see it from where he sat but he didn't get up to look. Instead he allowed himself to imagine that for it to be the only painting facing up, it must be quite lovely.

----------- 

Sofie walked down the hallway and nearly bumped into Okada in the lobby as he came back down the stairs. "Oh, Okada, good. I'm going into town for a bit to pick up a few things for Heero. I should be back soon but there's something in the kitchen to tide you and Ms. Relena over until I get back. I hope to be back in time to get something done before they leave…" "Wait, the boys are leaving? Already?" he asked. "Oh, that's right, you don't know yet. Wufei just told me he contacted a friend who'll be picking them up in a few hours. He didn't tell me where they're headed but he said they'd be getting medical attention so I'm totally in agreement with this..." 

Okada blinked. Somehow, he wasn't sure the boys would wait for her approval if they set their mind to something. But he bit back the comment and covered it with a pleasant smile as she continued, "… be only half an hour at most ok?" He nodded to her as she took her coat from the coat rack near the front desk and made her way out. "Drive safely, Sofie." She nodded to him and closed the door behind her, still shrugging into her coat. Relena paused on the landing before the first floor, having heard everything. Her eyes were slowly widening… "He's leaving…?" An angry chill crawled up her spine and she ran back up the stairs toward her room. 

---------- 

Sofie ran across the empty parking lot to her car as the wind blew snow into her face. Quickly getting out her keys, she unlocked the door and hurried inside. As soon as she closed the car door she breathed a sigh of relief. It almost felt as if a storm was picking up. She cranked up the car and pulled out of the Inn parking lot. As she made it onto the dirt road leading to the town a few miles away, she turned on the lights and windshield wipers, only remembering the radio out of habit. "… snow storm I've seen in years, coming down the coast from Canada. It may still seem early in the year for this but we suggest residents of northern New England to stay indoors…" Sofie gave the radio a nervous glance before she turned it back to the road. Her mind drifted to the discussion she'd just had with Wufei and the help that was supposed to be coming for them. This did not sound good… 

----------- 

"No! Absolutely not!" Heero was still sitting on the old mattress Sofie had found for him. He was resting his back against the wall. A still hand clutched at the cross that dangled from a chain around his neck. He wasn't looking at Wufei. Wufei on the other hand was standing, glaring spectacularly at Heero. After Sofie left they'd had a few hours silence in which he had tried to meditate and failed miserably because he knew the conversation they'd begun was not over. When Heero had finally decided to speak, it had been to say precisely what Wufei feared he would. Heero actually hesitated before saying, "I… won't be able to make it all the way on my own." He admitted.  

Wufei made to fold his arms over his chest and winced. His injured arm still rested out of the ruined sleeve of the formerly white shirt. He sighed and slipped the shirt collar off his other shoulder, letting it fall to the ground. "More reason for you to stay put. The last thing you need is to be in even worse shape by the time Quatre gets here which, may I add, should be any time now." He stepped out of the shirt and left it on the ground. Heero watched Wufei bend down and begin rummaging through his travel bag for a fresh one. "I have to tell him," Heero's voice was determined. 

Wufei sighed, "*I'll* tell him." He sat on the edge of the mattress and pulled out the clean shirt. "Be reasonable. The only thing you might accomplish by going into the cove as you are now is to injure yourself further." Heero frowned, "which is why I asked you to help me." Wufei looked him squarely in the face, "and I refused." The former pilot of Altron then turned away from his friend and began unbuttoning the shirt on his lap. The gesture was done in the hope that Heero would see he was finished discussing the matter. Wufei was temporarily relieved when he heard nothing from Heero's end of the mattress. He pulled the sleeve over his injured arm carefully and then shrugged into the other sleeve with ease. 

As he began buttoning up the long white Chinese shirt, movement from the other end of the mattress caught his attention. His eyes widened when he saw Heero struggling to stand up, "what the hell are you doing??" Heero steadied himself against the wall and then pushed off in order to start walking toward the stairs. "If you refuse to help me, I'll go to him on my own." He winced painfully when he put weight on his injured leg and it gave way beneath him. Wufei scrambled up and was quick enough to catch him before he fell on it. "You idiot, didn't you just say that you'd never make it on your own??" Wufei said as he lowered both of them back onto the mattress. 

Heero glared at the floor, "you don't understand, I can't leave without seeing him again." Wufei froze with Heero still in his arms. He looked back to the basement door that Sofie left cracked open. Sunlight was still streaming in from outside. "It doesn't look like the sun will set for some time yet. Even if you went out there now, before Quatre gets here, you wouldn't be able to see him." At those words Heero unconsciously began to lean into Wufei a little heavier. "It doesn't matter. Day or night… it doesn't change that he's still there. If I go to him now, at least I'll be able to … to tell him… and he'll be able to hear me." 

Wufei sobered considerably. 'To tell him… tell him what, I wonder…' because all of a sudden this didn't sound like it was about Heero leaving anymore. They both knew he would come back as soon as he was well again. If it was just 'goodbye' or 'see you later', it wouldn't mean this much… would it? And then Wufei remembered a pain within himself. 'Goodbye' had been too unbearable a word to say but … but he'd never gotten the opportunity to say anything else. "Meilan…" Heero gave him an inquiring look, but Wufei just shook his head, "…I'll take you as far as the slope. Even if we made it into the cove, with your injured leg and my bad arm, there's no way we would manage to climb back out." Heero's face brightened into something resembling a smile and he nodded, "Aa." 

----------- 

"This is unacceptable, Relena! You *can't* allow him to leave!" Relena was pacing in her room as the ghostly Selena hollered not two feet away. "We're not finished with him yet!" "I know!" Relena yelled back as she stopped to argue desperately with her double. "but Heero lives his own life! Even if I asked him to stay a little longer he would make the decision based on what *he* thinks is right!" Her gaze lowered and her voice became less angry and more worried, "Besides he's injured, he needs that medical attention…" Selena growled, "He's strong enough! That other woman here has been patching him up hasn't she??" 

Relena frowned to herself, "even if he didn't leave, we can't keep staying here forever. The Inn's going to close very soon and he would need to move on anyway… it's what he always does." Selena sneered, "Not this time." Relena looked a question at her and she smiled sinisterly. "Did you forget, dear? Heero is in love with the spirit of the cove. You're right, he's injured so he might leave… for a while. But he would come back and suffer these same injuries again, perhaps even worse." Relena made a small gasping sound, "wha-what do you mean?" 

"If I'm not mistaken, there are people after your beloved's life," she said leaning closer to Relena. "Isn't it logical to believe that others might follow the same trail here and find him when he returns?" Relena raised a hand over her mouth as the horror of that thought sank in. "H-how could I help him…" she said it to herself but Selena didn't miss the opportunity. "I've already told you what you could do." She raised her clenched hands to her chest in an overdramatic feminine gesture and gave her living twin a gentle smile, "I could help you. I have the power to protect your dear Heero should he ever need of it. I can seal a bond between you the likes of which you've only dreamed of. I could make him yours forever if only you would let me in…" 

Relena faltered, "you could protect him?" Her ghostly gentle smile widened, "through you, of course." Relena was still hesitating and Selena frowned inwardly. She had her at the edge… if only she could find a way to push her off… and then she had it. Selena took a step back, as if giving up. "…and here I thought Heero was the most important thing to you. I thought you loved him." "I do!" Relena challenged. Selena looked at her as if disappointed, "but you allow Heero to continue in the company of a murdering ghost. You allow him to fall in love with that monster and then you are prepared to sit back and watch as that awful ghost catches him in an unguarded moment and kills him like he's done to so many others." 

Relena's eyes grew impossibly wide, "t-that's the ghost that's been killing people here??" Selena gave her a vaguely surprised look, "didn't you know? And here I thought you just didn't care. No doubt Heero will try to see him again before he leaves too…" Relena moved forward and closed the distance between them. The sheer proximity caught Selena off guard and she solidified just in time for Relena to clutch the sleeves of her dress. "Please, help me! If Heero tells him he's leaving… he might just..!" Selena couldn't help the grin that spread across her features but she quickly disguised it with gentleness and understanding. 

She pushed Relena's hands away and took a couple steps back to lose her sudden solidity. She would need to be in spirit form for this… "So, you *are* the woman I thought you were after all. Does this mean that you agree to my request? You were never mine so you understand that I need your specific permission." Relena didn't hesitate to wonder what that meant. She nodded immediately, "Hai, you have my permission." When Relena uttered these words, Selena's mask crumbled. She grinned ominously, "good girl." Without hesitation she rushed at Relena, twisted in the air and fell through her skin. 

Relena gasped and fell to her knees as that cold wind seeped into her heart and took all control away. She shivered violently and bent forward as if to fall but her hands hit the floor first and she leaned on them for a few moments before her breath stilled and her heart calmed. One pale hand rose slowly off the floor and clutched at her chest through her clothes. A slow but sinister smile curled her lips and she laughed, quietly at first but then with all of her strength. With that dark laughter Relena raised her head to the light of the window beside her, "Foolish girl …" 

------------ 

Wufei helped Heero up the last step, acting as a human crutch. He readjusted his good arm around Heero's waist as they walked through the basement door and into the hallway of the East Wing. Getting up there had taken longer than expected because in his haste, Heero had apparently forgotten he needed clothes to go outside. Sofie had stripped him down to his boxers when she'd been bandaging him and because the dressings would need occasional replacement, he hadn't bothered to get dressed afterward. 

Getting Heero dressed however, had been a battle all on its own. The tank and jacket had been easy enough but the jeans Heero usually wore were close fitting and raising them over the impressive wound on Heero's calf had proven difficult if not painful. 

Wufei had finally decided to give Heero a pair of his roomier white pants. It didn't look like the best matching outfit he'd ever worn but Heero, ever the practical one, hadn't complained. On the contrary, he'd been grateful. Wufei mused to himself that it was better this way because despite running the risk of losing yet another article of clothing, blood would show up right away against the white fabric and would let him know when Heero'd had enough… although he hoped it wouldn't come to that. 

After they got him dressed, Heero slipped his gun into the back of his borrowed pants, although he wasn't sure how many bullets he had left. Placing the sword on his right side where it would be easily accessible by his uninjured left arm, Wufei picked the both of them up and began helping Heero up the flight of stairs. 

Wufei looked around as they entered the lobby. The Inn almost looked deserted. Okada was no where to be seen, which he thought might actually be a good thing for now because if he saw them like this… it would become much more difficult for them to get to the cove. Relena had seemingly disappeared too, but he mused that that was even better. "It's still snowing." Wufei glanced at Heero and then followed his gaze to the windows at the front of the lobby. 

The snow was coming down hard although the wind seemed to be a lot more forgiving then the last storm he'd been out in. Suppressing a chill at the memory he pushed them forward and hoped they wouldn't have to be outside for too long. They were severely underdressed for the weather. 

"Perhaps that's why Sofie isn't back yet." Wufei blinked. He'd completely forgotten about her. But looking down at Heero and taking in the sweat and the slightly flushed face, he stopped. Of course Heero wouldn't have forgotten. Painkillers weren't the only thing he was waiting for. Heero had carried himself so well that Wufei had completely forgotten his fever. 

Heero gave him a suspicious glance when they stopped, "what is it?" Wufei glanced back to the East Wing. "I shouldn't have brought you up here. Forget your injuries, with your fever…" "Wufei," he glanced back and Heero's glare caught him and held him, "I'm well aware of my condition but this is *my* choice. I thought you and I understood each other well enough for you to respect that." 

Wufei just let that determined gaze hold him for a few moments. He did understand… but he didn't have to like it. With great effort on the part of his conscience, Wufei pushed them forward. The minute they entered the West Wing of the Inn, pounding footsteps behind them signaled someone was coming. Wufei paused and glanced over his shoulder. 

Relena had rushed down the main staircase and ran into the East Wing without so much as a glance their way. "No doubt going to the basement." Heero said, also looking over his shoulder. Wufei nodded, "then lets keep going before she notices us." Wufei moved them down the long hallway and into the lounge. 

He grabbed the keys to the patio doors from the bar counter as they passed and unlocked the doors. Sticking the keys in his pocket he pushed the doors open and led them into the cold, late autumn weather. Once they were outside, Heero was quick to look into the sky but with the growing number of clouds pouring snow down on them, it was beginning to get dark prematurely and he couldn't tell how far the sun was from setting. 

Wufei noticed the move out of the corner of his eye, "We're almost there." He said reassuringly, and Heero nodded in response. They walked through the thick blanket of snow beneath them in silence and were half way to their destination when a noise behind them alerted them to another presence outside. "Hee~ro!" Heero's eyebrow twitched. "Keep walking," he said. Wufei didn't have to be told twice. 

They played deaf until a door closed and footsteps in the snow told them she had come outside and was following them. Wufei sighed, "we should see what she wants. Unless you want an audience." Heero's frown deepened but he didn't say anything. Wufei interpreted that as a 'yes' and kept them going until they had reached the slope. 

He turned them around to find Relena catching up to them and took a deep breath. "Yes, Relena? Did you need something?" Relena stopped just five feet away. Her eyes flickered to the sword at his side and to his occupied arms before she smiled benignly at him. It was the first indication Wufei got that something was wrong. 

The second was that although she was still wearing her regular shirt and skirt out in this weather, the light jacket she'd hastily donned was hitched up at the back… "I just wondered if I could talk to Heero in private, that's all." "Anything you need to say, you can say in front of Wufei." Heero answered without an ounce of subtlety or patients. 

Relena's benign smile fell around the edges but she recovered quickly, giving Heero a self-conscious kind of smile instead. "Perhaps if it could be just you and me… it wouldn't be so embarrassing." 'All that's missing is the blush', Wufei thought unimpressed. "Really, and here I thought you were rushing out to tell Heero to get back inside." Relena blinked, "Oh …oh, I was!" she faltered. "… I just meant I would like the chance to help Heero back myself." She added swiftly. 

Wufei however, hadn't missed a beat. He glanced at the suspicious frown on Heero's face and guessed that he apparently hadn't either. "What's tucked into the back of your skirt, Relena." Wufei blinked. No subtlety indeed… But this was not something Relena had been expecting and a sharp intake of breath on her part made Wufei certain that something wasn't right about her. From the moment she'd approached them he'd felt an eerie cold sensation he hadn't been able to explain. 

Heero must've been picking up on something wrong as well because he let go of Wufei and moved to stand on his own. Wufei let him when he saw the look on Heero's face. Heero was addressing an 'enemy' for the first time since the war and when you speak to an enemy, you do not show weakness. Wufei looked back to Relena and took in the cold smile with inward alarm. Outwardly he gave Relena a calm, guarded look. This was most definitely not the Relena they knew. "Why, I don't know what you're talking about." She said taking in their separation with subtle disappointment. 

Wufei moved away from Heero to try to get a better angle to see her back from, but she turned slightly toward him and grinned as if to say he'd been obvious. Wufei's frown deepened. He couldn't explain what was happening at that moment other than he felt ready for an attack but… from *Relena*? The girl who had steadfastly claimed pacifism throughout the war despite the odds against her? Wufei glanced at Heero to see that he'd drawn his gun and was pointing it at her, "Go back inside, Relena." Relena raised an eyebrow, "well, if you're preparing to shoot me then I guess the jig is up. I didn't think I'd make a convincing Relena, anyway." She grinned, "she's too stupid for my tastes." 

They both froze. Relena grinned and reached behind her to slowly pull a cleaver from the waistband of her skirt. She caressed it lovingly before she looked back to the boy in front of her and said, "Katsuhiro. It's been so long, my love…" Heero was looking at her with open disgust. Wufei however looked at her with a wide eyed shock. He shivered as chills that had nothing to do with the cold crawled down his spine. "He's not…" he began. "Katsuhiro hides within that body!" Relena… no, Selena screamed as she pointed with her free hand. She turned back to Heero whose equally wide and horrified gaze told her that he too realized what was happening now. 

She smiled nostalgically, "Oh how happy we were… how happy we could've been." Suddenly she glared and her grip on the cleaver tightened, "How dare you ruin what I'd worked so hard for?!" Heero was so unsettled that he took a step back. That step dislodged a few stones beneath him and they fell into the cove bellow. He gave the ground a quick glance, noticing that he was far too close to the edge for comfort. Relena noticed the glance and took it to mean something else. She laughed, "The sun has not yet set, my love! There is no way *he* can help you now!" Heero glared at her as she laughed. He made to take a step forward but put too much weight on the injured leg and staggered. 

Wufei made to go back to him but Relena took a step toward him and he unsheathed his sword, ready for her. She stopped and grinned at him, "the meddlesome Chinese boy by my Katsuhiro's side. How did I know I'd have to deal with you first." She said flatly. The safety clicking off a gun was what brought their attention back to Heero. "Back off and go back inside," Wufei was mildly surprised to hear the usually unemotional Heero say this with a voice full of the deepest loathing. Relena straightened and spread her arms wide, "Go on, shoot me. I've searched this one's memories and you have threatened but never been able to shoot this girl before." She said confidently. 

"I will not repeat myself," was Heero's only answer. Her grin grew dark and ignoring Wufei completely, she charged at Heero. There was the sound of a gun firing and Selena screamed as the bullet hit her host body in the chest. Consumed with rage she cried, "I will not be thwarted again!" and threw the cleaver before she collapsed. Heero gasped slightly as the cleaver struck him above the chest. The momentum threw him off balance and as he moved to take a step back the ground disappeared beneath his feet and he fell. "Heero!" Wufei ran to the spot where Heero had fallen but he was too late. Heero tumbled to the ground below and slid to a stop along the snow at the bottom of the cove. 

"Heero!!" Wufei called again but Heero didn't move. "Katsuhiro's n-not the one… you need to worry… about…" said a breathy voice behind him. Wufei turned with lightning speed and raised the blade of his sword against Relena's neck. Blood was trickling down the side of her mouth but she was smiling. "I'm not finished with you either." She said to him, her face barely a foot away. Wufei glared at her and pushed the blade farther. Blood began seeping onto the polished steel from the fresh wound on her neck. She looked at it with mock surprise, "would you kill this body?" He took a step forward which forced her to take a step back, "I'd do anything necessary to keep us alive." 

"Hmm…" she said moving her throat side to side, making the wound larger. She closed her eyes as if the sensation were pleasurable. It unsettled Wufei that other than placing a hand over the bullet wound on her chest, she wasn't showing any sign that any of these injuries bothered her. "… How noble…" she said opening her eyes again. "But I can't let you continue to interfere. Katsuhiro has to die and seeing as how I'm still not free, the task is not yet complete." Wufei growled low in his throat, "and you think it'll be that easy to get by me in the state you're in?" She smiled as if he'd made the observation of the day. 

"You're right. This body is pretty useless to me with a hole in it, weaponless, and you in my way. I should have never wasted so much time trying to acquire it when I could've been trying a different tactic." She raised a hand to his face but Wufei grabbed it with his free hand before it made contact. The wound on his right arm ached but he ignored the pain and kept her arm still. Her smile was unwavering, "Relena was never mine so I had to wait for her permission but you… You were mine before, and you will be mine again." Wufei gasped in horror when Selena's ghost burst forward from Relena's body and smiled sweetly from inches away. She moved forward as if to kiss him and he screamed. 

------------ 

Wufei's scream echoed along the cliffs, jarring Heero out of unconsciousness. He opened his eyes slowly and then squinted as the occasional snow flake fell around his eyes. "Wufei…?" A slow feeling of alarm began forming in the pit of his stomach. In all the time he had known him, he'd never heard Wufei make such a sound. He looked up into the sky but it was dark; the clouds were now obscuring the sky completely. If he didn't know better, he could've thought it to be night already… but Duo would have been here by now. He glanced off to the cloudy horizon and silently urged the sun to hurry. 

Heero struggled to raise his head and soon wished he hadn't. He'd managed to slide quite far from the slope with the aid of the wet snow that was now soaking into his clothes. Neither Wufei or Re... Selena were anywhere to be seen so he assumed they must still be at the top. But he couldn't see it very well because his vision was half obscured by the cleaver sticking out of his shoulder. Resting his head back against the snow he closed his eyes and tried to asses his condition. 

The bandage around his head had come off almost completely and the stinging on his temple told him the wound had reopened. A new pain in his left arm told him he had likely broken it on the rocks at the bottom of the slope. He didn't need to look at his leg to know that wound had reopened as well. The agonizing pain and warm wet sensation was enough indication of that. It was the fresh wound on his shoulder that worried him the most. 

The cleaver had snapped clean through his collarbone and logged there. It was painful… The combined pain of his injuries was so overwhelming that it was difficult to think and just as difficult to breathe. He couldn't tell how bad the damage was but he new that if he didn't get back inside for help, he'd either bleed to death or die of hypothermia. 

With that thought to motivate him he reached up for the cleaver with his uninjured arm only to gasp as his collarbone shifted against the blade and he dropped the arm onto his stomach. 'Damnit,' he thought half frustrated with his predicament. Just then, a rustling sound caught his attention and he looked back to the slope in time to make out Relena's body tumble over the top. She fell bonelessly and slid to a stop not too far away, as still as death. 

"Are you alright?" someone called to him. Upon hearing that voice, Heero glanced away from Relena in time to see Wufei sliding carefully down the slope. Relief washed over him. Wufei slid to the bottom and started to walk over to where Heero lay. He stopped and kneeled beside Heero, looking him over. "Well, you're not dead yet..." he said as if impressed by the array of Heero's injuries. Heero couldn't tell if he was serious or joking. One casual glance to the side however and Heero's relief proved to be short lived. 

Wufei was kneeling down beside him, resting his left arm over one knee. His right hand was holding his sword which he'd stuck into the ground as he knelt. Heero noted that Wufei was using the sword for support, putting weight on his injured arm as if he didn't feel it. He knew Wufei well enough by now to know that he was a talented swordsman no matter what hand he used but for practicalities sake, if one was injured, his sword never left his good hand. "What's wrong?" Wufei asked, noting Heero's drifting gaze. "Nothing," he replied, "… just wondering if Doctor J has gotten lost. He should have been here by now to pick us up." Wufei nodded slowly, "I'm sure he won't be long now." 

Heero nodded back and inwardly cursed himself for dropping his gun when he fell. "Can you move?" Wufei asked. Heero thought wildly, against the pain clouding his mind… he had to do something. "Iie, I can't." Wufei's eyes settled on the cleaver, "then I suppose the first thing we should do is remove this." He took his hand from the sword hilt and grabbed the cleaver. Without so much as a warning, he yanked it out. Heero gasped painfully and bit back a scream as he brought a hand to the wound. Tears escaped his eyes and he gazed back up at Wufei who was very obviously struggling to hold back an expression of extreme delight. 

Wufei looked at the cleaver and then to the sword as if hesitating while Heero struggled to control his breathing, 'debate as long as you need to…' He thought angrily as fresh blood soaked the front of his denim jacket. Wufei eventually glanced back to him and tossed the cleaver over the rocks. It splashed as it hit the water and sank beneath the waves. Heero finally couldn't take the charade any more. "How long are you going to pretend?" Wufei glanced back at him with mild surprise. "Nani?" Heero struggled to keep his wits against the pain and glared at him for little more reason than stirring up his anger helped him focus. 

"I know you're not Wufei. You couldn't possibly think you would fool me for long." Wufei/Selena's gaze grew cold and decided that was his cue to stand up. He pulled the sword out of the ground and regarded Heero icily, "Well, apparently this is as far as I will be taking it." Wufei's gaze became suddenly enraged, "If you know him well enough to have discovered me this quickly you two must be close. Was this one your lover too?? How many would you mock me with, Katsuhiro?!" Wufei raised the sword above Heero, poised to strike the final blow. 

Heero was unusually still as he looked up at Wufei… who he knew not to be in control. This was it. He had no tricks up his sleeve, no escape planned, he couldn't even move for the pain and his only back-up was preparing to kill him. "Answer me!" Wufei screamed from above him. Heero stared and gave him/her the obvious reply. "My name," he paused wincing as a strong jolt of pain stabbed through his shoulder, "is *Heero*." Wufei's face became a mask of rage. "Wrong answer." He raised the sword high above the injured ex-pilot and with a last look of malignant delight brought it down over his chest. 

A single gun shot rang off the cliffs and Wufei's blade stopped inches above Heero's heart. His would-be murderer froze and Heero stared as thin rivers of red spiraled down Wufei's sleeve. Wufei straightened and looked behind him in shock. When he moved, Heero saw it but could hardly believe it. She was standing a few feet away, blood from the bullet wound was trailing down her shirt. Relena's hands were unsteady and her grip on Heero's gun was amateurish but she'd managed to shoot Wufei in his already injured arm. Wufei quickly recovered from his surprise. "You… meddlesome brat." He growled.

Relena staggered and looked on in fright as Wufei stalked over to her. She raised the gun and shot again but the bullet missed. She took an unsteady step back, poised to fire again but Wufei caught the hand that held the gun and forced it skyward. Using his other hand, he stabbed her through the stomach with his sword. Her eyes widened and she coughed blood. She gazed almost pleadingly into Wufei's emotionless eyes and his response was to push the blade deeper. She choked on her scream when he pulled it free and she collapsed at his feet, silent. 

Wufei had barely turned around when a fist collided with his face and sent him flying into the sand. Duo stood above him, shaking and staring wildly at Wufei. Wufei sat up slowly and leered at him from the snowy ground. "I wondered when you'd be showing up." Wufei's grin was cocky, confident; even as he used his sleeve to wipe away the blood from his injured lip. "You…" Duo growled. He was shaking in rage and there was the promise of pain in his voice. "I…" Wufei mocked, "have been playing with your pet mortals all day long while you coward away in the safety of your cove. *I* am the cause of Katsuhiro's renewed suffering and *I*," he laughed, "am finally about to see to his end." 

"Like hell," When Duo's fist flew again Selena/Wufei was ready for it. He grabbed Duo's arms, rolled onto his back and kicked against Duo's abdomen, flipping him over. Duo cried out as his body hit the jagged icy rocks behind them. Wufei picked up his sword and got up quickly. He thrust the blade toward Duo's chest but Duo rolled out of the way and tackled his feet. Wufei cursed and fell backwards hitting the back of his head against a rock hidden by the snow. Wufei gasped, momentarily stunned. Duo seized the opportunity to return to spirit form and plunged his hand into Wufei's chest. 

"How dare you…" his voice was dark as he braced his other hand against Wufei's shoulder, "…endanger the lives of the people I've come to care about." Wufei made a small choking sound and his eyes shut tightly as if he were in pain. "How dare you use Wufei!" Duo struggled to pull his hand from Wufei's chest. It slowly began to come free and tightly held in it's grip was the ghostly front of a woman's dress. "And how dare you touch my Heero!!" He gave a strong tug and Selena's head and chest came free of Wufei's body. 

She got one look at him and attacked him in a fit of rage. "He's mine!" She screamed, forgetting the unconscious Wufei. She tackled him and they were both in physical form when they hit the ground. Selena wrapped her hands around his neck and squeezed with all her might. Duo struggled to pull her hands from his throat and threw his weight into her in the hopes of over powering her. She rolled beneath him but she did the same and when she was above him again, she straddled him and put all her weight into her grip. Duo tried to gasp for breath but couldn't. Although he was dead and did not need the air, having a physical body again made him crave it desperately and the pain of strangulation was no less intense. 

Duo finally managed to loosen the grip of one of her hands and took in a short breath, "I won't… let you kill him." She growled and struggled to push her fingers into his throat where she knew it to be the most painful. "He's the only way I'll ever be free of this place! Just because you choose to sacrifice your freedom to stay with him doesn't mean I have to be sympathetic." She said it with disgust but Duo's confusion was evident beneath his anger, "what the hell… are… you talking about??" Selena blinked. She let go of him all at once and scuttled backwards in the snow and sand several feet before she simply stopped and stared. 

Duo gasped for breath and filled his lungs with the cold frigged air. He looked to his side and was shocked to realize they had tumbled right next to Heero. Heero had struggled into a sitting position almost as if ready to come to Duo's defense… When Selena moved away, however, and Duo was no longer in immediate danger, the fire Duo caught in Heero's eyes went out and whatever strength he'd conjured up to help the violet-eyed spirit left him. Duo rushed behind him and caught Heero as he collapsed. The former pilot made a small pained sound when his injured shoulder hit Duo's chest. 

Duo held him carefully, protectively, and looked at Selena … who was staring back at them … in amusement. "You… you don't know…" she gave a small chuckle equal parts disbelief and delight. "You're not being self sacrificing or noble, you just didn't know." And she laughed outright this time; loud enough that it echoed against the cliffs and brought a foul taste to Duo's mouth. Duo glared as Heero merely listened and struggled to breathe. A low humming filled the night sky and all three gazes moved skyward. Selena frowned, "What the hell is that noise." The grin that came to Heero's face was shadowed by his pain but it was clearer in his voice, "Helicopters." 

Duo frowned, "flying machines?" Heero leaned into Duo's arms and managed to nod once, glad that it was one movement that didn't bring him more pain. "Hai… they're coming to help us." It was Duo's turn to feel relieved. He looked Heero over with something akin to desperation, "I've never seen anything this severe. You're so badly injured…" There was something in his voice Heero couldn't or simply didn't have the strength to identify, "they… they will be able to help this, right?" A small shadowed smile crawled onto Heero's face, "I hope so." 

Selena snorted, "you'll be dead by the time they get here." She reached behind her and stood up, pointing the forgotten gun at Heero's chest. Duo's eyes widened and he cursed himself for leaving it where Relena had dropped it. But there was nothing he could do now. So as the sounds of the helicopters drew nearer, Duo pulled Heero closer and wrapped as much of his body around him as he could. Selena was untouched by his attempts to act as a human shield. In fact she looked down at them with a look of victory tainted by malice. Heero winced painfully at Duo's renewed grip, no longer bothering to guard his features. He grit his teeth and shut his eyes tight against the pain. 

She giggled insanely, "why bother protecting him? He's just going to die anyway. He was always going to die. My only regret is that it took this long." Duo let his glare answer for him. He allowed his anger to mask his panic because he didn't know what to do. The helicopters grew louder and as they drew nearer, they stirred up the sand and snow around them. Spotlights flashed into the cove, passing over them as the choppers flew overhead. 

Selena yelled to be heard above the noise. "What's the matter, Duo? Still can't bare to face the truth? That perhaps for all his foolishness, you really didn't mean anything to him? Your precious Katsuhiro never returned for you after you died. Even after you waited years, centuries, he only came back *now*… and you run groveling to his feet," a laugh, "even I had more pride in myself than that!"

Duo's face darkened, "how many times must you be told?? This isn't Katsuhiro!" But she wasn't listening. "… and even now! After all this time, neither of you has said a word! And you still wonder why you are here??" Heero's eyes opened slowly. He carefully turned his head toward Selena, surprising Duo who loosened his grip enough to let Heero face her again. Still leaning heavily against Duo's chest, Heero gave her a calculated look, "what do you know about Duo's imprisonment to this place?" She grinned, "oh I think it's hilarious that he still doesn't know the reason. Mine was obvious from the beginning but his … he's been wondering for centuries and getting no where." 

She looked down on them smugly, "Men… you all make things like these so difficult. But then, I suppose I feel somewhat satisfied that it never happened. Katsuhiro should belong only to me. In life…" her voice suddenly darkened, "and in death." Duo was shaking his head, "what are you talking about…" Heero bowed his head into Duo's chest and sighed as realization struck him. It was so simple… "You never said it to each other, did you." Duo blinked and looked down at him. "…said…" One of Duo's hands had fallen to Heero's waist. Heero reached up with the arm he was sure was broken and placed his hand over the spirit's, "… said you loved him."

Duo's eyes flew wide. Heero looked into his face, "for all the understanding you held between you that this was how you felt… you never actually said it to each other." He felt the shiver that passed through Duo's body; felt his arms weaken around him, and knew he was right. There were voices above the sounds of the helicopters now. Several voices that were growing louder as they approached. Selena spared a quick glance to the top of the slope behind her before she turned back to Heero and sneered, "that's enough," and shot him. "No!!" Duo screamed. He held on desperately to Heero as he felt the boy's body first jerk at the force of the bullet and then go slack in his arms. In the space over Heero's chest where his jacket fell open, a red spot blossomed through the fabric of his once green tank. 

Selena fired again but growled when the gun did not go off. She fired again and again but the only noise that greeted her was the clicking of an empty chamber. Instead she threw the gun at them in anger and it flew passed them. But Duo was ignoring her. He held Heero in his arms and could not help the tears that fell from his wide eyes. "Heero…" he said in a small voice. Heero swallowed hard and squinted at him as he struggled to keep him in focus. "Heero…" Duo looked at him dumbfounded for a few moments before his shaking hand came up and covered the fresh wound as if to stop the bleeding. He began shaking his head and struggled with a weak smile, "Heero… you'll be ok." 

Heero looked into his face and all he could think was how much he wanted to touch it… but one arm was pinned against Duo's chest and the other ached too much to raise. Then he thought to kiss it but couldn't muster up the strength to move. That's when it dawned on him that he wasn't going to live through this one. The thought brought several conflicting emotions to his attention. He found it ironic that after all his training and all he did in the war, he was fated to die now… after the war's end and at the hands of someone who was already dead. Ever since it's beginning however, he'd been prepared to die for his cause. 

A cause, come to think of it, that had nothing to do with what he really wanted. He mused that he'd never truly been allowed to want… but that had never been important until now. Because now he did want something… and it was staring him in the face, dropping tears upon his cheeks, and saying his name again and again. So he smiled up at the first thing he had allowed himself to want. He smiled because he had finally found something worth living for… and even worth dying for. He smiled because that thought brought him a sense of peace, and because he would be able to keep his promise after all. "I love you…" Heero said with the last of his strength, and closed his eyes. 

"No…" Duo whispered, choking back a sob. He closed his eyes and held Heero to him, "no…" "Yes!" Selena screamed. Duo's head snapped up and he glared at her with the most intense hatred he'd ever felt. He glared ready to kill her, and knowing he could, when he stopped himself and stared. Selena was glowing faintly. Tiny red veins of light were moving up her arms. 'That's right…' Duo thought in realization, 'she's free…' She stared at her arms in elation as the veins widened and disappeared up her sleeves. She laughed, "fool! I have finally bested you! I'm fr…" she hesitated when the tiny veins reached her neck and peaked out of the fabric of her dress. She brought a hand to her neck and gasped as if she couldn't breathe. 

"No… something's not …" The veins continued to expand and crawled into her face. She screamed and scratched at them as if they burned. They covered her face completely, turning her skin into translucent red light and she began disintegrating before Duo's very eyes. Duo stared at her spirit with dead eyes as the other world claimed her and sent her where she belonged. He slowly turned his gaze back to the face that rested against his chest and forgot all about Selena. He no longer heard the noise of helicopters or of men now sliding down the slope. The men who were rushing to aid a young boy of sixteen who was already dead. 

Duo lowered Heero's body onto the snowy beach and caressed his still face in silence. The hand that moved across the still warm skin left a red smudge in its wake and the sight of it brought fresh tears to Duo's eyes. Never had he felt any emotion so deeply as what he felt for Heero and his loss became a pain so great that he did not know what to do with himself. So he breathed in and said what he should've said long ago, "I love you too." But there was no response.

Duo lay down next to him, curling up beside him and cried. He did not notice when the medics descended upon the cove in a frantic swarm. He did not notice when the flame of another life in the cove flickered and gave out. And he did not notice when that life spilled from it's body in small, white, invisible veins that reached out and searched the cove to claim the dead… 

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Quatre passed the front desk as he walked down the sterile grey halls of his private New York hospital. He'd become quite familiar with the place, having spent every available moment there for the past week since answering Wufei's call for help. It was noon and he'd seized the opportunity to get away from his work and pay another visit. He reached the elevator doors and waited with the crowd until the bell chimed and the doors opened. He was surprised to find Wufei stepping out. He smiled, "Wufei! I was just coming up to see you. I didn't know you were already up and about." 

Wufei smiled back at him. Quatre worried too much sometimes, but he mused that it really was one of his endearing qualities. Out of all the pilots, he'd arguably been the most sensitive; the most emotional. Quatre had allowed himself to be so openly caring despite the things they had to do and see, and Wufei had never been able to figure out how he'd managed it. It was one of the many reasons the ex-Sandrock pilot had earned his respect. "I wasn't all that physically injured." He replied. 

Quatre frowned just slightly. "You were shot twice in the same arm." Said arm was currently in a sling. Wufei shrugged, "it's healing." He looked back towards the elevator, "besides, my arm is nothing compared to Heero's injuries." Quatre also looked toward the elevator as if he could see Heero's room through it. "How is he?" Wufei was silent a moment, "he hasn't woken up yet but his fever's down and he's stable… it's a miracle he's not dead. The paramedics were barely in time to revive him." He was silent a moment before his gaze returned to Quatre, "I was just coming down to get Duo something to eat. He's been dead so long he seems to forget that his body needs nourishment now."

"Yes, I wanted to ask you about that. Was… he really dead?" Wufei nodded, "I'm not sure how it happened even though I saw it myself. Just as I was waking up and the paramedics were arriving there was a light… I don't know, I can't explain it. I thought he was going to move on…" He shook his head, "I suppose the only way to know what happened is to ask him but he hasn't spoken very much since he got here." Quatre seemed to consider this, "…and you trust him?" Wufei surprised himself by nodding immediately. "Yeah, I do." 

Quatre looked surprised too. "I think," Wufei continued, "that he genuinely cares about Heero. He hasn't left his bedside all week. He barely eats and if he sleeps I haven't seen it." He paused a moment, "I think Heero needed someone like that and even after all this, I don't regret staying with him." Although still somewhat surprised by Wufei's resolve he smiled and nodded to himself, "Then I can be happy for Heero… but I'll be relieved when he wakes." Quatre motioned down the hall towards the cafeteria. "Why don't I go with you. I'm sure you could use an extra hand." He said it looking at Wufei's heavily bandaged arm. Wufei smiled, "sure." 

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In a dark room on the ninth floor, two chairs were pulled up next to a small uniform hospital bed. The bed's occupant lay still, breathing steadily in his sleep. His cool hand was held between two warm ones that belonged to the only other person in the room. Duo sat in one of the chairs next to Heero's bed. His head tilted forward slightly and his half lidded eyes gazed only at the hand within his. He blinked slowly and fought the sleep that was determined to claim him. After hundreds of years without having to yield to the physical limitations of a living body, Duo had forgotten how difficult it was to simply remain awake when tired.

But he refused to sleep. What if Heero woke while he was away? He needed to be here… needed to. His head began lolling forward and he almost missed the slightest movement of Heero's fingers. That small movement brought the exhausted boy back from the edge of sleep and he looked straight into his lovers face. "Heero..?" he whispered. The fingers trembled again, and then wrapped themselves around his hand. Heero's head shifted on the pillow and his eyes opened. Duo found himself unable to do anything but grip Heero's hand back. He held that hand as if his, or Heero's, life depended on that connection. 

But the smile that began forming on Heero's face at the sight of him died before it lived. "I thought you were free…" Duo's eyes shined with an otherworldly glow despite the darkness of the room. He reached out and caressed the side of Heero's face, brushing his bangs aside and the tears that lit up his eyes fell down his cheeks. "I am." He said softly. Heero frowned, not understanding. Then his eyes caught something and his gaze moved to the nightstand. Sunlight from behind the blinds reflected innocently off the cross Duo had given him. His gaze moved back to Duo's very real hand in his, "how…" 

"Relena." Duo replied. Heero's slight frown deepened. "If she had not died there and then, I would have moved on…" Duo said. "Her desire to be with you was so great that she wished it to be so in whatever way possible. When her body began to fail her, her ki left her… and sought me out." Duo gestured to his chest, "it came in through my old wound and made my spirit body real." He paused, "she gave me her life so that I could live it in her place… with you." Heero looked stunned. Duo smiled sadly, "I'm sure she had help from the cove, same as I did." 

He sat back and gazed at the ceiling, "I managed to manipulate my energy enough to become spirit again so that I could pull Selena from Wufei's body." He looked back at Heero and smiled, "the energy of that cove was never something I'd been able to control. But I guess… maybe it all happened… because I needed it to happen." Heero stared for a moment and finally nodded. He was too tired to do anything but agree. "Where is Wufei?" Heero said, reminded of him by Duo's earlier statement. "He's down getting some lunch. He's alright. He's been sitting with me every once in a while to wait for you." 

Heero nodded and yawned. Duo's hand returned to his cheek and Heero closed his eyes to that comforting touch. "I'm… I'm sorry I didn't get to you before all this happened." Duo's voice was small and strained. Heero opened his eyes to find fresh tears building up in those of his love's. Heero carefully raised his uninjured arm and laid that hand over the one on his cheek. He held it as tightly as he could and gazed into Duo's face, "don't apologize to me… when you're the reason I'm still alive." The tears fell but Duo smiled and nodded. 

Behind the smile, Heero saw the bags beneath Duo's eyes and realized he must've been waiting for him to awaken for a long time. "How long have I been sleeping?" Duo wiped the tears away and said, "a week." That seemed to settle it. Heero tugged on his hand and Duo seemed to understand. He carefully crawled into bed next to Heero and Heero held the sleep deprived boy with his good arm. Duo fell asleep almost at once.

Heero took the opportunity to gaze into the sleeping face of the spirit who'd been given a second chance. "I would do it all again. Know that." He said quietly. Duo's only answer was to curl up closer. Heero sighed softly and closed his eyes to the sight of his lover's beautiful sleeping face. Confident that when he awoke again later that day and everyday after, his face would be there to greet him. 

Owari


End file.
